Songs of the Moon: Feather Moon
by Song of the Moon
Summary: Jacob is now Alpha wolf and his life is finally starting to fall into place for him. Leave it to the usually supernatural drama to turn everything upside down once again. Jacob/OC and Embry/OC
1. Prologue

**JAKE**

What makes a monster?

A lot of people would consider me one. Fuck I spent the last six years of my life believing I was. I thought anything that wasn't normal, which scared the general population, had to be monstrous.

Then one day you see real evil. You see how it so easily tears and destroys and doesn't give a second thought to the melee it leaves in its path. How can one creature cause so much destruction and ruin so many lives?

Because that's what an actual monster does.

It makes you take a much longer, harder look at yourself. Maybe realize that you aren't the beast you had always considered yourself to be. It also makes you realize that you hate that evil and when you are one of the only ones that really wants to stand up and stop it makes you wonder was I ever a monster at all?

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><p><em>AN: Hello everyone! To all the readers that read MoonDance here is the start of the second book in the series! If you have not read MoonDance yet, you are going to want to stop right here, go to my profile and read it, because this story won't really be effective without having already read the first book.<em>

_I'm really excited to start to share this piece with everyone. It's tone is slightly different then the first book and hope everyone enjoys it just as much! Also new banners for both stories on my profile page if you want to check them out! Once again thank all of you for reading!_


	2. Chapter 1

**JAKE**

It was one of those unusually sunny days in La Push. The heat was beating down on my naked back as I helped my brother-in-law Paul set up his back yard. Moving chairs and tables around, getting everything ready for our monthly pack dinner. I glanced over at the moody wolf, watching him arranging the seats around a table. Married life had changed him. Paul would never be thoughtful like Embry, or easy going like Quil, but he was definitely more patient than he once was and he would need it once his baby arrived.

Rachael was just barely showing right now. I could see her frame from the window inside mixing a salad, but she had been so happy a couple of weeks ago to share the news with all of us. She had really settled into her life as a wife and seemed to enjoy it a lot. I had the feeling she would make an incredible mother. Since her return to our home town she had been working really hard on being a good sister, something I'd really appreciated.

Across the lawn from us my Dad and Sue Clearwater where shucking corn for the meal that evening. Sue laughed and touched my Dad's arm in an affectionate way. It made me smile. The two of them still wouldn't admit how deeply their feelings had grown for one another. This was actually a little silly to me because it was so damn obvious to the rest of us. Still I hadn't seen my father this happy since I was little. His kids were all doing alright and that allowed him the ability to have some form of life of his own.

Leah Clearwater was working on the fire pit for doing the cooking with Embry and Quil. I remember when I used to resent Leah. Fuck part of me probably even hated her on some level, mostly because I think her pain and asshole tendencies reminded me of my own. I was such a shit head to her, but it wasn't like she didn't dish it right back at me at the same time. Now I couldn't imagine the pack running smoothly without her.

She had purpose with training our younger members and as she put it "keeping me from fucking everything up." Sam was also gone from the picture mostly now, raising his family; and Leah wasn't reminded daily of what she lost. She had started to heal same as me. She was even starting to spend a little time with Rachel, along with my Lea and I think having more friends' was also balancing out her life.

Quil was still a happy, hot mess. I sometimes wondered if he was ever going to settle down and figure out what he wanted from life. He wasn't quite as bad as I'd been a little over half a year ago. He was enjoying all his insanity instead of trying to destroy himself with it. Still I can't imagine his laundry list of conquests was bringing any meaning to his life.

Embry looked up at me as he was working, rolling his eyes at something Quil was saying. I was only half paying attention and didn't catch the whole story, but it was some part of his escapades at a bar a few nights before. Between Embry and Leah I couldn't ask for two better Betas'. Embry was my sounding board and council. I'd been so uncertain at times, especially in the first few months as Alpha about choices I was making and Embry always backed me or pushed me in another direction when he thought something wouldn't work out. He was so damn thoughtful and smart; he really was the absolute best friend a guy could ask for.

Still lately Embry was less spontaneous then he used to be. At first I tried to chalk it up to him taking his new position very seriously, but I think he was reaching a cross roads much as I'd done myself and that he was doing a lot of soul searching. I tried my damnest to let him know I was there if he ever needed me, but he seemed to need to figure things out on his own, kinda like I had.

Seth Clearwater walked past me to my left, carrying out baskets of chips and other shit to snack on. He seemed to have sprouted up a few more inches himself over the last few months and had filled out a little more. His wolf form had completely lost its youthful appearance. As long as the Cullen's were going to be in town he had become the liaison between our two fractions. He still had a weird appreciation for Edward, that I would never understand; but he wanted to talk to them and I trusted him to handle simple matters between our groups so it was beneficial to me.

Mostly I think Seth was happy to have his own small place in the group. Even though he really didn't have to do much, because things had been slow and peaceful as of late so we would barely even know the Cullen's were still in town, except for a few things. It was still Seth that handled everything and he liked that it was his own special mission.

Jared and Kim had not arrived yet. They were picking up our three newest pack members. Jared and I had a long talk a couple of weeks ago. He and Kim were thinking about starting their own family. Only if they did Jared was thinking about quitting shifting himself. Kim worried a lot about him when he was gone and he felt with all the new wolves joining the ranks that maybe it was time for some of the older pack members to retire. It would be hard to lose Jared if he does decide to leave, but I would never force anyone or stop them from doing what they needed to. Being part of the pack should be a privilege I'd come to realize not an obligation.

Alex and Gabe had also been growing with leaps and bounds. They both drove Leah crazy, and I think Gabe has developed a minor crush on her, much to the amusement of half of the other pack members. They both trained really hard and were actually much more skilled then any of us had been at the same point that there at. Still they were mostly untested in actual combat and if things stayed this quiet for much longer the two of them would probably go a little crazy.

Ian had been another surprise. He had been dirt biking with his cousin, had nearly hit a tree, flown off and phased into his wolf form. Terrified he ran into the woods, leaving his cousin confused and scared. Leah had found Ian and we had brought him into the pack. He was fifteen, lanky and loved chemistry. The only one that really understood him was Embry. He was a quiet but sweet kid, who I think was a little bit scared of me even though I tried my best to be nice to him. Ian had only been with us for a month and this would actually be his first pack get together. His wolf form was light grey with a white face and muzzle.

I stretched finally finished with my job and pulling out my phone glancing at the time. "Fuck, Paul I need to take off and grab Lea. If I'm late she'll be pissed!" Paul looked over to me from where he is now leaning in the house saying something to Rachael.

"Whatever Black, we're almost done here anyway." He waves me off, but Rachael crosses to his side playfully pinching his arm, laughing at his usual brisk manner.

"Hurry back Jacob, if you're gone too long, Alpha or not I can't guarantee you'll get any food." Her smile brings one of my own.

"You'll barely know I'm gone." With a quick call and wave to my Dad I jog over to Lea's huge truck. Climbing inside I start it up, turning down my music from earlier. I needed to pick Lea up from the station then take her home first to get cleaned up. Her truck had needed an oil change and I decided to take care of it this morning so I'd just dropped her off at work.

Recently Lea had switched back to the morning shift. One of the other guys at the station needed to work evenings because his wife couldn't stay home with the new baby during the day so they were switching off. I was trying to be as helpful and judicial as Lea was but I hated the fact we were now on different sleeping schedules and how lonely the bed felt most of the day.

Still other then me being selfish and wanting everything the way I prefer, life with my girlfriend continued to be amazing. I had never even had a steady relationship before and now six months into this one I couldn't picture my life without her in it.

The breeze from driving felt good on my face and naked chest, I leaned back a little more in the seat, traveling such a well known road to me, that my mind continued to wander. I never pictured my life being exactly what it was right now, a beautiful woman who not only adored me, but also me as a wolf. One of Lea's favorite weekend activities was to go for long walks through the woods surrounding our house with me in my wolf form. She loved running her hands through the scruff on my neck while we walked. It was so surreal and peaceful.

I had also finally met some of her family. Her Grandparents had been taking a cruise to Hawaii that was leaving out of Vancouver. They had stopped in and stayed with us a few nights. It had been nerve wracking as I wasn't certain I'd ever tried so hard to impress anyone as I did her Grandmother and Grandfather. Her Grandmother especially had been hesitate about me at first. I think the fact I was a loud mouthed asshole at times backfired on me a little, but by the end the old Jacob Black charm won out. I felt excepted into Lea's family now too and that just made everything between us feel even more solidified.

I turn into the station, finding a parking spot and climbed out. Being Alpha had really taken some adjusting for me. I doubted myself a lot at first and why anyone would be willing to follow me. Embry and Lea had straightened me out quite a few times and Lea… well she just has this way of making me feel like I'm so much more then I probably even am. I smile softly to myself as I near the door of the station. I was getting better at my leadership role now; it was becoming more second nature.

Pushing open the station door I pause in the entrance way. Lea and Charlie are both laughing obviously engaged in some sort of humorous conversation. Her face positively lights up when she sees me, "Well Chief, that's my ride which means I have to go." She walks around the front desk, and then stops turning back to her boss. 'Oh and make certain to tell Captain Jones I say hello. I really need to call him myself at some point."

Charlie waves Lea off, "I'll make certain to rub in his nose again how I stole one of his best Officers from him. You two have a fun night!" Lea just rolled her eyes at Charlie's comment, and crossing to me, patted my abs.

"Come on Tough Guy. I need to get home and change out of this uniform." I waved to Charlie as Lea practically dragged me back out to her truck, I could tell she was hot and tired from the shift change that was still catching up with her.

"Did you have a good day Baby?" My voice rumbled in her ear, I captured her around her waist right by the bed of her vehicle. Nuzzling her neck, she grabbed the front belt loops of my cut off jeans, pulling my body closer to hers and locking my mouth in a hard kiss. I had no problem complying, wishing suddenly we didn't have so little time before we needed to be back at the party.

"It was actually pretty long and boring, how was yours?" Lea stepped back from me and moved toward the passenger side of her truck. I sighed, watching her body move away.

"Finished all the little things I wanted to get done at home, then getting everything ready in La Push kept me pretty busy." I climbed back into the driver's seat and started the truck back up. Lea was already pulling off her uniform shirt to reveal a small tank top underneath, as I pulled out of the parking lot. Leaning over as she was looking out the window I playfully bit her shoulder.

"Sorry Jake, I guess I got New York City on my mind tonight. Charlie has been talking all day about how he was going to be calling my old Captain tonight and that just lead to the two of us swapping stories about him most of my shift, which was actually what we were still doing when you walked in, makes me miss him a little. Captain Jones was always so good to me." I'd never lived more then one place so I had to imagine it was hard to leave behind a life you had built for yourself somewhere. Lea had made it perfectly clear to me that she had never been happier then with me, but still it didn't mean you couldn't miss old things that you enjoyed.

"Well maybe you should give him a call then and get caught up. You can tell him about all your adventures with your awesome, hot boyfriend." I grinned at her, keeping the mood light and was pleased when she burst into giggles at my comment.

"I'll never forget the first time I told him about you Jake, it was probably one of the biggest I told you so, moments I've ever had." My imprint was smiling again and that pleased me. I gave her a considering look.

"And why is that?" We were almost home now, I turned down our street.

"Because the reason Captain Jones pushed me to take the job here was because he though I was too wrapped up in my job and needed to settle down a little. Then I met you and I did just that. Sometimes I think you cast a spell on me Jacob Black." I was pulling into the driveway and parking, Lea slide closer to me suggestively placing her hand on my upper right thigh, leaning up her mouth so near my own. I let out a sigh that ended up sounding more like a low growl.

"Fuck you woman! You know we have to be back in La Push immediately, I don't have time for your teasing." I pouted at her as she burst out laughing. "If anyone cast a spell, it's you on me. I can't keep my hands off you!" Lea playfully pulled away from me, as I glowered at her.

"I need to go get changed!" She declared in far too innocent of a voice, she leapt out of her truck and started to walk to the front porch. I took a few deep breaths trying to will my body to forget how close she had just been to me and the need that was now building in my groin.

Lea stopped, pausing after unlocking the door and turned back to look at me still sitting in the same spot. "Jake are you coming?" The laughter in her voice, I would make her regret it tonight after the party. I felt a wicked smile on my lips. I followed Lea into the house and upstairs to our bedroom as she started to change and get ready to leave again.

I lay sprawled across our bed watching her remove all of her clothes down to her underwear then teasingly stand in front of her closet, trying to decide what she wanted to wear. Studying the curves of her frame, my mind started to drift, mulling over everything she had said to me in the car. I could feel a question forming from what I was thinking.

"So you didn't seriously see anyone while you were a cop in New York City?" Lea was pretty and caring; I couldn't possibly understand how she would not attract a lot of men to her. She paused holding up two different shirts considering which one to wear, but slowly she turned to look at me as if she was pulling herself from her own thoughts.

"I went out with some different guys, but none of them really appealed to me; or sometimes I think I was too intense for them. Either way I'm just not the type of girl that would ever settle, not when I could have the best." Lea grinned at me and I could almost physically feel the inflation of my ego.

"Weren't you lonely?" Maybe I was thinking too much about myself and my own feelings, but those years before I met Lea had been like a living hell at times. I think she could tell too what I was getting at. She placed both the shirts on a chair, crossing to the bed sinking next to me on my side. She reached for my left hand and lifting it placed it between her breasts over her heart.

"I had some really terrible relationships too Jake. I almost lost myself, kind of like you did. So I hardened my heart into a rock. I thought if I focused solely on my goals, on achieving things that gave me personal satisfaction that it would be enough. Actually for a long time it was, until you." she dropped my hand reaching up to touch my cheek a soft smile spreading across her face.

I felt my own lips curl up to match hers, leaning forward I kissed her as gently as I could manage. My love for this woman grew larger with each day. Reaching down I grasped her waist pulling her closer towards me, wishing to show her everything she made me feel. Lea pulled away giggling again, pushing lightly on my chest.

"The Alpha cannot skip the party Mr. Black." Her expression was teasing but I knew she was serious and wouldn't give in to my temptation. I really wish I had her self control.

"Neither can the Alpha's mate, so you better go and find an outfit." I smacked her ass as she stood and she stuck her tongue out at me. I leaned back against the pillows again, watching her. I knew without asking just how much she had enjoyed her freedom before, yet now she seemed equally if not more pleased to be tethered to me. I sighed and Lea gave me a curious look having finally decided on a shirt. I just smiled at her, a lot on my mind, but pack business came first tonight, then I would try to reason out all the bullshit of my life.

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><p>We arrived back at Paul and Rachael's to find that everyone else had arrived while I was gone, but that thankfully they had just started eating so we hadn't missed out on the food. It was the first time Lea had met Ian and the shy boy took to her much like I figured he would. For everyway I was big and imposing and loud, Lea was petite and gentle, she also had an obvious understanding that drew people to her naturally. Fuck it had me; Ian was explaining some formula or something to her that I didn't have any fucking clue about. I could tell Lea didn't either but she listened so politely and with so much attention. Maybe that was part of being a cop, pretending to care when you didn't give a shit?<p>

The night went by easily. We all ate way too much, made a mess which pissed off Paul and in general just had a good time. As the evening quieted down everyone gathered around the fire pit. My Dad started to tell old tribe stories, but for some reason I couldn't sit still. Lea could tell I was restless and I could see the worry on her face, but I kissed her temple. I felt like maybe I just needed to step away for a moment, I told her to stay and listen because she adored my father's tales.

I walked up and onto the porch, the cool night air feeling good away from the fire. "You look far too serious little brother." I turned and smiled as Rachael walked up next to me. She leaned against my arm, both of us just staring up at the stars for a while.

"Everything's so perfect right now Rachael, I just feel like something is about to happen to disturb it. It's almost an oppressive feeling like when you know a storm is coming." I looked down and into my sister's face. I watched her eye brows bunch together for a moment.

"That was almost poetic Jake." I rolled my eyes at her attempt at humor, smiling she continued. "Everything went so wrong for all of us for so long; it doesn't seem possible that it should be able to go so right? I get that feeling too sometimes, then Paul usually tells me _its bullshit and we deserve to be happy_in his charming way he has and it makes me feel better." I leaned forward against the porch railing and shook my head.

"I get what your saying and I do at times wonder how in the hell I ended up getting pretty much everything I ever wanted in life suddenly, but it's more then that. Lea and I were talking before we came here tonight and while she said some of the sweetest, most complimentary things to me I just got a feeling that I can't shake. I think it's my wolf. He senses change is coming and he's trying to warn me. I just want to be ready; protecting all of you is the most important thing in the world to me." Rachael studied me long and hard for a few moments, before shaking her head.

"When did you grow up Jake?" Rachael looked back towards the fire and all of our friends and loved ones. "I can't even begin to imagine how your powers affect you guys, and I think being the Alpha that yours are probably stronger then anyone else's. I do think that you need to remember Jake that you never burden all of this alone. You have all of us, and that we will be more then happy to help you figure anything out."

I could see the concern on my sister's face. I nodded mutely back to her even though it wasn't that I was feeling over whelmed, _for once_. It was more like I felt like I was staring into a huge dark forest and I had no fucking clue what was going to come crashing out of it. Which lead to me thinking about the other topic that had been idling around my brain. "Hey Rach?" My sister had been looking at the fire; I think probably watching Paul but turned back to the question in my voice.

"How did you know you were ready to really get into a committed relationship with Paul?" I wasn't certain if I'd expressed myself clearly when Rachael gave me a slightly confused look.

"Well if I understand what you're asking Jake, I knew things were really serious between us when out of the blue one day Paul started talking about what he would want to name our son if we had one. It hadn't even crossed my mind that Paul had looked that seriously at our relationship and well look at us now." She lovingly placed her hand against her stomach. I sighed, my face scrunching up with thought.

"I don't think I said that right, now you know I don't really understand woman right?" My sister let out a snorting laugh at my comment and I frowned at her. "I always just assumed that most of you even if you didn't say it though about settling down and having babies and bullshit like that. Lea doesn't seem interested in anything like that. She loves her career, and she's much more self reliant then I've ever been. I know she loves me a lot, but sometimes I wonder if she really needs me, if that makes sense." Rachael's expression softened at my words. She laid her hand on my arm.

"Jake have you talked to her about all of this?" I knew she was going to ask this question and I quickly shook my head.

"What if I say something about it and she gets spooked that I'm trying to tie her down and realizes that she really is better off on her own?" Rachael considered my words for a few moments before she spoke again.

"Jacob, you're so used to taking care of everyone else, I don't think you're very good at letting someone take care of you. Lea loves you and accepts you for just who you are, wolf and all. If that isn't commitment, I'm not certain what is." It was my turn to glance at the fire; I could see my imprint silently hanging off every one of my Dad's words.

"I know I have to have faith and I do trust Lea, completely. I just wish I could do for her a tenth of what she had done for me, since we met." I looked back at my sister to see her smiling at me again.

"Jake the sun rises and falls by you with that woman, given enough time I think even you with your thick skull will eventually see it." Grinning Rachael let out a laugh. I frowned at her again, before letting out a deep breath and joining her in the laughter.

"Thanks Rachael." I rolled my eyes at her, as she patted the side of my face in an affectionate way. Our conversation switched to lighter topics then, some painting Rachael wanted done around the house before the baby and our father and Sue. We walked back over to the fire and as soon as I sat down, Lea scooted right next to me, curling up into my warmth. I breathed in her scent, feeling the usual calm that came over me because of her.

The rest of the night went by quietly. Embry, Leah and I decided on some training to do the next afternoon with the young wolves. They didn't have school and it would feel good to get up and run in the mountains. Lea and I left hand in hand, making our way back to her truck. I drove as she curled up next to me sleepily.

Back at the house as we each went through our nightly routines a little bit of my apprehension had faded away. Maybe I really was starting to worry too much. Lea was pulling down the blankets and sheets in the bed, her body leaning over I felt the wolf in me stir. Crossing the room swiftly I pressed my body firmly against the back of hers pinning her. "If I remember correctly someone was teasing me earlier tonight." I growled in her ear.

Lea's scent immediately changed, I knew it would be a little longer before we got to sleep.

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><p><em>AN: Mostly catch up with the last six months in the characters lives in this chapter. Major conflict is going to start appearing in chapter two! Hope everyone is enjoying so far and once again thank you for reading! <em>


	3. Chapter 2

**LEA**

I woke up just as the sky was starting to become pink from the first rays of the rising sun. I blinked and stretched, knowing it was still an hour or so until my alarm went off and wondering why I'd randomly decided to rise so early. Next to me Jacob was snoring, loudly. I fought off a giggle, slowly turning so that I could watch the man next to me sleep. The side of his face was crushed against the pillow, his short hair sticking up in several directions. It warmed my heart and I couldn't stop the smile that crossed my face.

Everything about him was perfect for me. I couldn't imagine being more comfortable with someone else, or more in love then I was currently with my Alpha wolf. I even found I adored the canine side of him. Sometimes I just craved touching Jake in his wolf form, burying my face in his fur, being engulfed in the warmth of his body. It brought me a tranquility and harmony; I loved his wolf as much as I loved him.

Jake stirred in his sleep, shuffling around before returning to snoring. I no longer felt tired and watching the Native man's face my fingers crept up for the hollow of his neck, lightly tickling there, he shifted around a little but still didn't wake. Grinning, my fingers slid down farther, feeling the smooth, firm strength of his pectoral muscles and abs. I bit my lower lip, touching the coarse hair between his thighs before lightly resting my finger tips against his flaccid cock.

I scooted closer to the much larger man, my hand wrapping around his member, feeling it twitch to life against my caress. Lightly I stroked him, his cock elongating and growing in my grasp. Jacob groaned suddenly, his head lifting, his eyes barely open. "Fuck that feels good." I smile at the rumbling growl he let's out.

My pace picks up, mimicking the usual rhythm of his body slamming into mine. My body tingles as the air fills with the musk of his arousal. Leaning forward I plant soft kissing on his shoulder and neck, Jake's breathing is getting more labored, his pleasure noises more pronounced. "Baby is this actually happening or am I dreaming? Not that I really care that much either way." I laugh against his neck, pressing my breasts, my nipples hard against his upper body.

"Unless we're somehow sharing the same dream, I'm definitely being naughty." I playfully nibble on his shoulder, hearing the giggle in my voice. Jake is panting right next to my ear, one of his large warm hands lifting to twist my right nipple. I gasp as Jake suddenly slams my form down into the bed, his massive frame pinning mine below him. He is looking down at me, studying my face with his dark penetrating eyes. I wiggle my arms free raising them to his mussed hair. Running my fingers through it to help it lay correctly, I smile cutely up at him.

Jacob tires so hard to look stern, but it only takes moments for him to break into one of his staggeringly beautiful smiles. "I think you've probably found the only way I would enjoy being woken up this early in the morning." He kisses me; it's gentle and sweet, his lips just brushing against mine. I feel the head of his cock pressed against my wet sheath and I wrap my legs up around his body, tilting my hips as he slowly pushes inside of me.

We lay joined for a few moments, just staring into one another's eyes, basking in the intensity of our feelings for one another. Our imprint connects our emotions more fully then should be possible. Jacob then crushes my mouth with his, pulling back and thrusting into me hard again. "Oh Jacob." I groan out his name, I can feel the trickle of pleasure starting in my womb. His eyes continue to focus on mine and I can't help but not only feel a growing intensity to my physical pleasure, but also to the swell of my heart as Jake's adoration for me of obvious in his gaze.

"Fuck baby, you're always so tight, it feels so good." There is almost a purr to the large man's voice as I watch his eyes finally drift close, a look of absolute bliss taking over his face. Jake's keeps his pace steady, I groan into his shoulder feeling the tightening in my womb grow in intensity. I release, calling out for him my body clamping down firmly on his. He bucks against me, his hips thrusting faster, his breathing coming in ragged puffs. He moans as his frame twitches against mine. I kiss his cheek as he collapses on top of me, his face inches from my own.

My body tingles from pleasure and from the intensity of the heat Jake is giving off. I feel languid and hate the fact my alarm will certainly be ringing out soon. Jacob captures my mouth in a hard kiss once again, turning and pulling me on top of him instead. I trace a finger around his still heaving chest watching the mixture of emotions on his face.

"Let's wake up every morning like that." His usually smart ass grin, I nip cutely on his chin.

"We pretty much do Jake. I think I'm in better shape here then I was in the city simply because of the amount of sex we have." I smirk down at him, feeling his hands lifting and pulling my hips down and against his cock, which is already swelling again.

"How about one more work-out then before you shower?" Something about Jacob, he could tempt me in a way no one else ever had and I had genuine issues with denying him anything. I pushed one of his hands away and he chuckled as I reached down between our bodies, adjusting my position as I slide his hard member back inside my already slick sheath.

I let out a pleased sigh as his length once again sank fully within me, resting my palms against his massive chest, watching his eyes narrow down into satisfied slits. My hips ground against him, it was slow and precise to start, and I enjoyed watching his reactions. Jacob was once again holding my hips with both hands, but now it was lightly allowing me complete control at least for the moment.

"You're so fucking beautiful." Jake's voice was low and breathy, his gaze watching me with contentment, that I never could have pictured him having when I'd first met him six months ago. I felt a blush rise to my face. No matter how long we'd been together Jake's intense appreciation for me was nothing short of remarkably flattering.

"And I'm all yours." My tone was purposely seductive and I enjoyed the pleased smile that crossed the giant man's face below me. I watched an intake of breath from Jacob and his expression change. Jake was inhumanly strong a point at times he seemed to enjoy reminding me of. I was fit, but wasn't exactly tiny, yet he could throw me around like I was nothing more then a bag of feathers. I let out a surprised gasp as with a growl Jacob lifted and turned me, pushing me roughly into the headboard of the bed. His dark eye boring into mine Jake took control, thrusting into me with a kind of wild abandon.

"Mine." He grunted, eyes closing, his breath coming in huffs, as he held me tightly against the wall behind us. This was the wolf, feral and possessive. There was ferocity to his love, but there was also no mistaking the fact that it was love. Neither side of Jake would ever hurt me; the wolf could just be very territorial. I lost count of the amount of times I came before shuddering Jacob released his seed inside of me. We both collapsed back onto the bed, both glowing in the illumination of dawn with the light sheen of sweat that covered our bodies.

Jake turned kissing me hard, just as my alarm went off blaring my attention back to the reality of the day and away from the beautiful existence my loving boyfriend tended to create for me. We both looked at the noisy phone with contempt. With difficulty I untangled my frame from his, scrambling to turn off the music set to wake me up. Jacob was pouting. I knew the shift change annoyed him. It had been easy while we had been living on pretty much the same schedule, but I also knew I had a duty to my job and that sometimes things were not always going to work out how I wanted it to.

"I need to go get cleaned up." My body was still tingling all over from what Jake had done to it.

"I guess I'll just get a few more hours sleep then." Jake flopped back down and I sighed. I knew after a few days he would settle into our new routine and get used to it, but sometimes as much as I adored him he could be a little bit of a brat. I didn't want to argue with him about it and instead I just followed my daily morning schedule, stopping back at my bed before leaving.

Jake was snoring lightly again and I smiled leaning over to gently kiss him. "Have a good day." His eyes blinked open and he gave me a sleepy smile.

"After all of that, how could I **not** have an amazing day?" His attitude had improved; I was pleased I ran a finger down his cheek.

"Good luck on your training run with the pups today, stay safe." Jake pulled me down for one last hard kiss.

"Good luck keeping Forks safe from crime." He smirked at me knowing that a good portion of my day was probably going to be doing nothing. Before I could doubt my devotion to my occupation and crawl back into bed with the alluring naked man lying below me I decided I should probably leave. Squeezing Jake's hand one last time I exited the room and stomping down the stairs, made my way to the front door, ready to start my day.

* * *

><p>I parked my truck at the station. Getting out I attempted to balance everything I was carrying in with me, I'd stopped at the local diner and gotten Charlie coffee and myself tea and giant bag of donuts. I felt like I could eat a horse after my ambitious romp earlier that morning. Approaching the door to the building I was not surprised when it swung open to reveal Charlie's waiting face looking at me.<p>

"Good morning Chief!" My grin was perhaps a little too large, or maybe I had a bit too much spring to my step. Charlie just studied me for a moment before he let out a chuckle.

"I can see it was for you." I gave my boss a pointed look as he continued grinning at my annoyed form. I knew he wouldn't inquire about details, because honestly I don't think Charlie wanted any; but he never missed a chance to tease me when I had what I could only describe as my "Jacob glow".

"Did you get a hold of Captain Jones last night?" I decided that changing the subject would be my best tactic in this case. Crossing to my desk I sat down my drink, turning to hand Charlie his as he walked over behind me. He accepted the coffee with a nod of thanks and placing the bag of donuts down I grabbed one to eat while I listened to him.

"In fact I did. Arnie is doing very well. He keeps telling me just how close to retirement he is getting." I couldn't help but share the smile that Charlie had on his face. I really missed my old Captain at times. "Same old, same old at your old station I guess, though you may want to check your e-mail." Charlie took a sip of his coffee and I looked at him curiously.

"Why?" I continued eating my doughnut wondering what was up.

"Your old partner…" I watched my boss pause, trying to recall his name.

"Chris?" I supplemented it for him, my interest in where this topic was heading just growing.

"Yeah, Chris, he's been working a case for a few weeks now, seven people found dead so far. Oddly enough they have all been homeless people, prostitutes or gang members and that's why it hasn't been more high profile." Charlie took another sip of his drink, I listened silently. "Anyway they're all dying from being mauled by some kind of animal. Arnie said it's one of the weirdest things he's ever seen. Chris wanted to send information about the case to you, because he said this was kind of your thing and the expert they had gotten from the zoo was an asshole."

I blinked a few times, even just working there a few years I had seen some pretty wild stuff in the city; but this did sound out of the norm. "I'm not really knowledgeable. I was just one of the few people that wasn't afraid of bats and other wildlife and usually took the calls that dealt with them." I'd finished my donut and turned flopping down into my seat and clicked to my e-mail. Nothing yet, knowing Chris he would send it after he had his lunch so I should be getting it soon. My brow furrowed trying to push away a nagging feeling that was building in my gut.

"Not there yet Chief." I looked back up at Charlie and I could see he too had been interested to see the case. Not a lot has been going on in Forks lately so a little big city mystery spiced the day up. "I'll check again in a little while. Even when Chris was a regular street cop with me, he never seemed to really accomplish anything until about an hour after we had lunch." I laughed and Charlie joined in.

I felt a brief flash of guilt realizing that I hadn't talked to my old partner in a few months now, ever since I'd called him to congratulate him on his promotion to Detective. It was nice to know that he was still thinking about me, even if he probably was because he was hoping I could solve his current problem for him.

I tried to shake the thoughts and focus on my own work for the day. Charlie was supposed to be going down to the elementary school later in the week to talk about "stranger danger" with the kids and I was writing up bullet points for things for him to say. I was surprised I somehow hadn't been volunteered to go, but I got the impression Charlie really liked being around the kids. I never talked to him about it but sometimes I think it really sat hard with him the fact that he was never going to be a grandfather.

Work seemly progressed slowly; I finished the project for Charlie and started typing up a few reports for the night crew just to pass the time. I was not surprised when eventually my computer dinged informing me I had a new e-mail. I laughed to myself, realizing that sometimes it was comforting to know that the people in your life never seemed to change.

It was in fact the e-mail from Chris. I skimmed over the actual note he had written. It was some information about his wife and kids; all five of them had made the honor roll or Dean's List this semester, which just made me once again feel guilty for not calling him for so long. His correspondence ended with him complaining about the zoo worker, who he thought "didn't know shit" and him talked about how "fucked up" this case was. I smiled to myself making a mental promise to get caught up with all my old friends.

The e-mail had quite a few attachments about the case and I decided to just print all of them since Charlie was also interested in reading about it. I was humming softly to myself as the printer rolled out page after page, when it got to the crime scene photos I froze. I felt the donut from earlier twist inside my gut looking at the mutilated corpse. Almost all the organs had been torn from the body and I am assuming devoured, person after person, all seven victims in nearly the same state.

Maybe it was the noise of the machine or he had just happened to see my expression as I was looking down, but Charlie wandered out of his office into the main room in the station to check and see what I was doing. "Did the e-mail arrive?" I nodded a confirmation and just handed him the pictures I no longer really wanted to view. Charlie's expression pretty much mirrored my own, as he flipped through page after page. "Jesus!" I couldn't help but reflect the sentiment in his voice.

We traded off reports, each of us reading about the case and making comments about details, the joking from that morning aside, both of us now deadly serious. Sometimes being in almost a bubble of small town living one could forget just how gruesome the world could actually be. Charlie picked up the zoo officials findings first. I was barely paying attention to his reading until he swore loudly. My eyes glanced up, curious as he handed the report to me waiting to see my reaction.

I read the details quickly, knowing immediately what had caused Charlie to be so alarmed. I looked up at my boss shocked. "You don't think…?" He nodded before I could even answer the question.

"What else could it be? You need to go find Jacob right now, Lea. I'm going to call Arnold, if they are dealing with what I think they are; the shit has literally just hit the fan." I stood momentarily just staring at the black and white words on the paper. My fantasy world from that morning literally shattered.

"Charlie…" I think he could see the uncertainty in my face.

"Go to La Push." The Chief gentle shoved me towards the door and as I started moving the shock started to wear off. Suddenly all I could think was that Chris was out there hunting this thing, every moment probably putting him self into greater danger.

"I'll call you as soon as Jake and I decide what to do." My pace had broken into a jog.

"I'll see what I can work out on my end to help you guys!" Charlie called out after me as I hit the front door running.

* * *

><p>I took one of the squad cars and used the lights and sirens to get to the reservation at top speed. I hoped I wouldn't piss off the La Push police force, but all of them knew I was dating Jake now and they were pretty lenient with us Fork's cops as we were with them. I pulled to a quick stop in front of the Black house, slamming the door of the vehicle behind me as I ran for the front door. Seth surprised me by meeting me at it, his expression showed me just how shocked I must look.<p>

"Lea what's wrong?" Seth looked more serious then I think I'd ever seen him. Behind his form I could see Billy wheel up with Sue at his side.

"I need you to get Jacob, I know they are out training, but you can contact them if your in your wolf form right?" My voice sounded so breathless, I took a few deep breaths forcing myself to act professional and calm down.

"Sure, but what's wrong, are you alright?" I could see fear creeping onto Seth's face and I wanted to dispel it quickly. I needed him focused on finding his Alpha.

"Everyone here is fine, it's complicated but it has to deal with my old precinct in New York." I let out a long sigh. "It'll just be easier if I explain everything at once when Jake gets here. Your sister and Embry are with him too right?" I realized I was clutching the case files I had printed to me. I needed to calm down, because I needed Jake to be able to look at this logically and if I was flying off the handle I had the feeling he would be too.

"Yeah, I'll go get everyone for you." Seth took off at a jog for the forest already pulling his t-shirt off over his head. My eyes then fell to Billy and Sue who had been quietly watching the awkward exchange between Seth and I.

"Why don't you come in Lea. We can make you some tea and you can settle your nerves before my son gets here." I smiled gratefully at Billy. Sometimes he understood me so well it shocked me. Sue laid a gentle hand on my arm.

"Whatever's going on we will work through it." I felt my own rattled nerves settle a little. I had come to love Billy and Sue as an extension of my family. I always considered them both so wise and strong that it made me feel calm just to be in their presence.

"Thank you both." I followed the older couple into the kitchen where I sat at the table with Billy as Sue started making me my drink.

"Whatever is happening it must be very bad; I don't think I've ever seen you this flustered." Billy was studying my face; I sat all the papers I was holding down, seeing that a regular looking report was on top.

"It might be, it probably is. I just hope Charlie and I are wrong." As my frantic mind settled I began to doubt my own logical conclusions from earlier. It just all seemed too fantastical.

Sue brought me my tea and I blew on the hot liquid, drawn into my own thoughts. I could see the couple in the room with me sharing a silent conversation with looks between them. I felt foolish, this wasn't like me. I was usually so even-keeled. My mind was haunted at the moment by all the crime scene photos and the fact nearly everyone I cared about in New York was knee deep in the mess this creature was making.

Jacob burst through the front door in nothing but cut off shorts, his face was even more panicked then mine. His eye quickly roved the room until he saw me and crossing quickly he pulled me up into a tight embrace, crushing my smaller frame into his warm chest. "What in the hell is going on? Seth was flipping the fuck out, said you barreled in here whiter then a sheet screaming for me." I managed to pull back a little looking up at large Native man holding me.

"Are Leah and Embry here too? I want to tell everyone." I watched Jake's two Beta's come pacing in. Both looking at me with concern, through the doorway I could see Seth was still outside with all three of the younger wolves. It was better that way; they didn't need to see this.

"What happened?" Leah's strong tone broke through the momentary silence. I took a deep breath, realizing I had no idea how I even wanted to start presenting all of this to them.

"Remember how I told you Charlie was contacting my old Captain last night?" I spoke directly to Jake and he nodded, a confused look on his face like he wasn't piecing together why that would be causing me to act this way.

"For the rest of you, when I worked in New York City, my Captain was a man named Arnold Jones. He is good friends with Charlie and that was actually how I got the job here." Blank stares from most of the room as I could see they couldn't see where I was going with this information.

"Well when I got to work this morning I asked Charlie how his talk with my old boss had went. Charlie mentioned they had just gabbed, nothing pressing; but he mentioned my old partner Chris." I could tell from the anxious expressions of everyone else in the room that my tale may be taken too long, but I felt like all the details were necessary for the seriousness of this matter to make sense.

"Chris has been working a murder case." My eyes drifted down to the papers I'd left sitting on the table. "He wanted my opinion on it, I grew up in the country, I've always been good with animals and well I kind of got a reputation in the force for being one of the cops to go to with wildlife issues."

"Where are you going with this?" I could see the impatience on Jake's face as he spoke but once again I reminded myself that everyone needed all the details.

"Let me show you guys something, but I have to warn you, these photos are really horrible." I walked over towards the table and shifting through the papers started to lay out all of the crime scene photos side by side. I felt the rest of the room crowd around me, stifled noises of shock leaving people's mouths when they seen what had been done to the bodies. Sue actually had to walk away, I couldn't blame her.

"This is terrible, but Lea I still don't understand what this has to do with us?" I could hear the authority in Jacob's voice and I knew he wasn't going to take my long drawn out explanation for much longer.

"Actually up to this point I myself didn't see anything other then a gruesome crime. Then Charlie read the report written by the zoo official. Here, let me read you guys the part…" I shifted through the papers again. Jake was silently watching me, his form ridge, I watched him glance back at the crime scene photos again. Leah and Embry where sharing baffled looks, while Billy was comforting Sue. Finally I found the paper I was looking for.

"**Upon completion of my examination of the various wounds and bite marks presented on the victims bodies I have been able to identify them as belonging to a known species.**" I started to read off the section that had grabbed both Charlie and my attention. "_**Canis Lupus**_** or the North American Grey Wolf. The mysterious part about this discovery is that judging by the size of the bite marks, and comparing them to an estimation of the size of the animal's jaw, unlike most wolves this predator would have to be the size of small horse. No wolf on record has even been recorded as this large…**" I discontinued reading the report, looking up directly into Jacob's gaze. "Jake, he may have never seen a wolf that big, but I think it's rather apparent now why I rushed over here. We all obliviously know quite a few wolves that fit that description. Jacob is it possible that you and your pack are not the only shape shifters alive?"

Across from me I watched a little of the color drain from my boy friend's face. He certainly hadn't been expecting this new revelation and from the expression of every single other person currently in the room, I was certain neither had they.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Thank you so much to all my readers and to everyone who has favorited and watched this piece and a HUGE thank you <strong>1sweetmoment<strong>, **wolfhappiness**, **DragonBby**, and **Beaches of La Push** for reviewing the first chapter!_ _Hope everyone is interested in where I'm going with this. Thank you again!_


	4. Chapter 3

**JAKE**

Looking into the searching expression of the woman across from me, I could feel an icy shiver run down my spine. My eyes turned once again to the crime scene photos that Lea had just shown all of us. The mindless carnage that had been done to these bodies, it was hard for me to understand how someone like us could do this.

"I just can't believe another shape shifter could be so heartless." My jaw clenched and I turned a couple of the pictures over forcefully. I let out a loud hard breath, looking back up seeing every eye in the room was now on me. My brows knit as I tired to think up something intelligent to say.

"Jake, Honey…" Lea's tone was soft and I could see her hesitate. Like she didn't want to have to point out what should be obvious to me. "I've seen people do some of the most messed up and cruel things to one another, knowing how good and honorable all of you are it isn't that out of the realm of possibility to me that if other werewolves exist that they could be this awful." She started to gather up all the papers, I watched her silently for a moment digesting what she had just told me.

"Dad?" My father's eyes had fallen to the work my girlfriend was doing but rose again when I spoke. "You know the Tribe stories better then anyone, could there be others like us?" I realized I honestly didn't know. It was a topic we'd never really talked about. It seemed like if it was common knowledge for us to know that Sam should have mentioned it at some point. I watched my dad's lips purse as he was shuffling through his thoughts.

"I don't recall ever hearing stories of any of our neighboring Tribes skin walking the same way we do; but we also never talked about our powers with anyone outside of ourselves. It could be possible, but in New York City, if it is another shape shifter, I don't believe it would come from any group we would be connected with." I watched my father cupping and patting Sue's hand as he spoke and I realized this whole topic was really upsetting her.

"How do we know the human behind all of this is even Native?" Leah's critical tone spoke out; I watched her crossing the room to also join her mother, seeing how disturbed she was. Sue smiled weakly up at her daughter, leaning against the younger woman's side.

"That's really the problem isn't it? We don't really **know** anything. I mean we aren't even completely sure this is a shape shifter." I ran my hands back through my hair, different courses of action flowing through my mind.

'We need to go there." Embry's quiet, steady tone supplied me with my answer. I looked back at him, my expression slightly befuddled.

"Go to New York City? Us?" Even as I posed the question, I realized that conclusion made the most sense.

"Not all of us, a select group. We need to know Jake, I mean can you just sit here and let people die, knowing that we maybe the only ones that can actually fight what's killing them?" Embry was always so logical, so sensible.

"Not just any people either, my old friends. Chris has a family, if something should happen to him…" Lea's voice trailed off and I watched her grip the papers to her chest tightly as she finished collecting them, her eyes downcast. I felt a weight on me, far greater then I had challenged up until this point as Alpha. Pulling the worried woman in front of me tightly into an embrace I felt her form relax against the heat of my body.

"We need to call a pack meeting. This is the bigger then maybe anything we have ever dealt with; I want everyone's opinions before I make a decision." I had a distinct feeling this had been the impending storm I'd been feeling. I needed to take things slow, because I didn't want to get overwhelmed.

"I'll take care of that." Embry turned towards the open door. "How long until you want everyone there Jake?" I felt my forehead crease in thought for a moment.

"Give me an hour. I need some time to think about all of this." Embry paused, I could see he read my perplexity, but at this moment I didn't think there was anything he could say that would make this situation seem less dire. Nodding curtly at me Embry exited and I could already see he was enlisting the younger wolves to help him spread the news.

Lea tugged lightly out of my arms, placing one of her hands gently against my chest she looking up into my eyes with a searching expression on her face. "I should head back to work. I need to talk to Charlie and start making plans. If you decide to go Jake, I'll get us a place to stay and I need to work some things out between our departments so maybe I can somehow temporally help out on this case." she sighed, turning back to look at the Clearwater women and my Father.

"Leah, I'll stop by later." I could clearly see my imprint was concerned about Sue and Leah nodded to her gratefully. My girlfriend spared one last lingering glance at me before stepping away towards the door; I tugged lightly on her arm before she could leave.

"Let me walk you out to your car." I needed a few moments alone with Lea; I just needed to bounce everything rattling in my brain off of her before laying everything out for the pack. She nodded, almost sensing what I wanted from her and with a nod to my Dad I followed Lea outside.

Embry, Seth and the three pups had already all vacated to spread the news about the meeting; Lea walked over toward the patrol car but paused leaning back against it and reaching out grasped one of my hands with both of hers looking up at me with question. "What's going through your head right now Tough Guy?" I squeezed one of her hands, pulling away to join her in leaning against the vehicle. I looked up at the sky for a few moments watching a cloud drifting slowly above.

"You think we should go, same as Embry does don't you?" I looked down at the smaller woman, watching her expression. It was now her turn to look away for a moment.

"I think if you're looking for me or Embry to tell you what to do in this instance Jacob, we really can't. You're the Alpha, this is your pack and I think you're the only one that can decide what the right thing to do here is." She laughed a little hollowly then, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "I probably shouldn't say this because I know it will influence you, but I have to be honest. I'm going to the city either way Jake. I owe Chris, a lot and I can't leave him to stumble around in this blindly."

A haunted look flashed through her gaze, my expression became quizzical and I wanted to inquire just what she "owed" this old partner of hers, but I knew this was just not the time. "I think even if you hadn't of told me that, my answer would already be that I needed to go. Ignorance really is bliss, because I can't know something is out there doing these things and not try to stop it." My balled fist slammed back against the car as aggravation at the situation rushed through me. "It's just different, because I'm putting other people's lives at risk now and if something happens it'll be my fault." My gaze fell down and I sighed.

I looked up as Lea stepped in front of me. Lifting her hands to the sides of my face she went up on her toes to allow her lips to brush against mine. "You're such a good man. It's part of the reason I love you so much." Her gaze held so much appreciation for me I couldn't help but look away, feeling undeserving.

Her expression didn't waver and dropping one hand from my face she pressed her palm firmly over my heart. "Just listen to what it tells you to do in here Jacob. It may not always be the easiest thing, but it'll be the right thing." I pulled her body against mine forcefully, kissing her hard. Lea had this magical way of showing me how to best help myself decide what to do.

Her arms wrapped up and around my neck, deepening the kiss. We had long stolen moments together, we both knew we had so many other pressing responsibilities looming over each other, but we both wanted just a few breaths for us. I growled against her mouth. My body vividly recalling that morning and the way she had felt below me. It was a good memory; it helped remind me of one small part of everything I was fighting for.

Finally almost hesitantly we pulled apart. Lea leaned against my shoulder for a moment, before finally standing up straight my imprint let out a forced breath. "I should be getting back to the station." I nodded kissing the side of her temple.

"I'll see you at home after you finish work. I'll have the packs decision then, and we can start finalizing plans." Lea nodded mutely. As she slid into the front seat of her vehicle I stepped away from the car, she started up the engine and turned to smile at me one last time before pulling away. I watched the patrol car bounce away down the road the wet soil from the light rain we had been getting on and off that day stopping it from kicking up dust.

I glanced back at my Dad's house and instead started walking back towards the woods. I just needed to run a little, clear my brain of all my doubts and fears. I didn't even bother putting my extra shorts away just leaving them in a small pile behind a bush as I took off in my canine form. No other wolf minds yet, it gave me a little time to myself.

I wondered if the creature that had murdered all of those people could really be another shape shifter? The repulsion I felt at the idea actually made my stomach twist. How could one of my kind devour human flesh? How diseased and malformed could the wolf inside of them be? My fur was standing on end as I jogged to a stop, I was near the cliffs to the ocean and a strong salty breeze was caught in my nostrils.

If it was one of our kind, we had to stop them. What this thing was doing was worst then even a leech, because part of it was still human. The responsibility of everything felt very heavy, just like I'd told Lea; putting myself at risk didn't bother me as much as the idea of doing it to my pack. This would be my first command decision where I had to do that, I suddenly had a whole new respect for Sam and the trials he himself must have went through in the past.

I figured I would have to keep our party fairly small, at least to start the investigation. I was hoping it was only one asshole and not another pack; I just didn't want to believe there could be an entire group of shape shifters out there that could be this evil. I went over quick pros and cons to each member of my group and them making the trip with me. The solution was both obvious and came quickly.

I walked the last few steps to the cliff and stared out across the expanse of the dark, swirling water. The sky was drab and gray; I could almost scent the rain hanging in the air waiting to fall again. Every single thing I had been told by my friends and pack mates since becoming Alpha was bouncing around in my head. Everyone had shown faith in me, now I had to live up to their belief. I was intimidated a little, but unlike the person I'd been before I felt up to the challenge.

Turning my frame I leapt back into a run, heading towards the clearing where our usual pack meetings took place, knowing my hour had to be close to being up at this point. I got about halfway to my designated area when I felt other wolf minds. Embry, Seth, the pups and Leah had all just shifted and I had the feeling everyone else wouldn't be far behind. I sent them all a general greeting, which was then answered to me. I loped into the meadow first jogging to my usual seat. Taking my place, I waited.

Wolves started pouring in around me. Leah entered, with Embry a step behind. Seth jogged up, keeping the pups in line; sitting them a little farther back and off to the side. Paul came crashing in next, his dark canine eyes casting me a curious look. I tried to keep my thoughts quiet until I started the gathering. Jared loped in silently taking his place, his usual jovial nature seemly subdued. Last came Quil, with a slightly sheepish expression in his eyes for taking longer then anyone else. I though it best not to ask him where he had been at the moment.

I straighten myself up to sit tall at my full height, glancing once around the clearing before starting the meeting. _"Does everyone know why we're here right now?" _I snorted waiting for replies.

_"Something is going on in New York City. Seth said a shape shifter is killing people. Is this bullshit or real?" _I couldn't blame Paul for the slightly incredulous tone to his thoughts; I had been struggling to wrap my mind around this subject since Lea had presented it to me.

_"We don't have any conclusive facts, no pictures of a giant wolf or anything. Lea did show us crime scenes photos that have bodies literally torn apart by something big and some expert or some shit from the zoo in the city identified the bite marks as being from a horse size wolf. To me at least this seems like enough evidence that it at least warrants checking out. I truthfully hope this all turns out to be bullshit, but if it doesn't we could be the only ones that can stop this thing." _I looked from face to face of each canine in front of me. I could feel rumbles of varied feelings between the pack. Some still uncertain, some believing going was the only course of action. My gaze fell on Embry and Leah they had heard all the same information that I had from my imprint.

_"What do you two think?"_ I wanted my Beta's opinions to be placed out for consideration as much as my own. Embry and Leah exchanged guarded looks before Embry spoke up first.

_"I was the one that suggested the trip to the city. I just don't think this is something we can ignore. If for no other reason then if this creature is a shape shifter and ends up being caught on camera or something it could mean big trouble for us in more ways then one later on down the road."_ Sensible, practical Embry, I had been so hell bent on the murders that I hadn't even stopped to consider what other impacts this could have on our group. I watched his words flow through the wolves, anger and fear surfacing. I rumbled a growl, wishing for the group to stay silent until Leah spoke. A hush fell over everyone else.

_"At first I have to be honest, a big part of me just wanted to say; why in the fuck is this our problem? But watching the horror in my Mom's face, she's still haunted by those pictures and that pisses me off. I guess I think if we don't do this it would be almost like we were hiding from it and I hate to feel like a coward." _Leah's opinion elicited an even more emotional feel from her pack mates. I allowed the sentiment to roll through everyone for a few moments before I sharply called the group to attention again.

_"Does anyone else feel like we shouldn't do this?"_ I wanted to be judicial, I once again studied each canine face, but no one spoke up. I nodded my head. _"It's decided then a small party from our group will go, Lea is currently working out the details of our trip through contacts of hers. Now the question is who should be sent? I spent a good portion of the last hour thinking about just this question. I want Embry and myself to go."_ I paused waiting to gage reactions. I could feel a ripple of disappointment at the fact only two of us were going but no out right disagreement, so I continued. _"In my absence, I want Leah to assume the role of Alpha for the group." _Clearwater's eyes widen as she looked at me with clear shock in her expression. Paul leapt to his feet teeth bared I could already see the protest forming in his thoughts.

I too jumped up, growling deeply, telling Paul in no uncertain terms that he should sit back down. The moody wolf stomped around a moment, glaring at me before finally falling back again on his haunches. _"Leah has been a terrific Beta for the last six months and I'm disappointed in the fact all of you are not supporting her."_ My tone was firm and cold. _"That said I was going to suggest to Leah that she take Seth and Paul as her two Beta's for support, but considering your little asshole display there Paul I'll allow Leah to decide on her own."_ Clearwater was still looking a little shell shocked at being left in charge, but at the same time I think she could feel my faith in her. I watched her pull her head up high, her ears forward and proud.

_"I would be honored to watch your place for you while you're away Jacob, thank you. As for my Beta's I think Seth and Paul are both the correct choices, if Paul can get his head out of his ass long enough to see the reality of the situation." _Paul growled, but it was more half-hearted. Seth almost leaped out of his skin from excitement. I watched his tail fly in the ground behind him and pride echo in his face.

I waited to see if there was any conflict from Quil or Jared. With Jared not even certain he wanted to continue shifting I was not surprised when he wasn't offended at being passed over. I could feel disappointment from Quil, but he didn't voice it. He knew a conversation was coming between us where I would have to tell him to get his shit together. At the moment, putting that off seemed more important to him then his current status in the pack.

Finally I turned to face Embry. He hadn't said anything about the fact I had wanted him to come with me. I'd placed us in the most dangerous positions, but I felt out of everyone, Em would most faithfully have my back and also be able to most logically look at all this bullshit and figure out plans I may not see right away. He was looking at me with grateful eyes and I realized he was really pleased with the fact I've chosen him. Not only because it really did show my faith in my friend, but it also got him out of his house and away for a while. Which I silently had been thinking Embry needed.

_"That's settled then. We should be leaving within the next two days I would guess and myself or Embry will call Leah nightly to keep everyone informed on our progress."_ With that the meeting ended. I stood, walking over to Em motioned with my head for him to follow me when I left. I watched all three of the pups nearly leap on top of Seth, overjoyed with his new position and for him. He snapped at them playfully and I shook my head.

Paul was still grumbling, but I watched him stomp over to Leah and I could hear the two of them talking about all three of them getting together the next day to talk about patrol schedules and duties, I figured the two of them would keep each other in line with Seth in the middle trying to maintain the peace.

_"Leah?"_ I watched the female wolf look over at me curiously. _"Want to stop at my place for breakfast tomorrow, I'll fill you in on all the detail about the trip and we can go over anything else you might need to ask me?"_

_"Sure thing Jake." _We exchanged nods and with one last look at my pack I picked up into a jog and started to move away. Embry fell into an easy run at my side; we covered the ground to my house quickly, both stopping at different points to retrieve shorts so when we shifted at the end of out journey we had clothes to pull on. Exiting the woods Embry smiled at me.

"Thanks for taking me Jake; it means a lot to me." His expression was earnest, but I met it with a mischievous grin.

"Who else would I want to take my first cross country trip with…? Anyway could you see Clearwater and I stuck on a plane together for over eight hours?" I blinked at him attempting to look serious. Instead we both just burst out laughing.

"Do you think Leah will be alright or will Paul drive her crazy?" Embry looked thoughtful as we neared my old garage and both walked inside, the familiar scent bringing back memories to both of us.

"I think Paul has another thing coming if he thinks he can push Leah around." I grinned again and Em laughed in agreement. We both flopped down in old beat up chairs; I let out a deep breath.

"Honestly Em I'm really glad you're coming with me because I don't have a fucking clue what I'm doing." I leaned back; my head flopped against the top of the chair.

"How is that different from any other day?" The smartass tone of Embry's voice, I lifted me face again, giving him a look of mock indignation.

"Fuck you!" It just made Embry laugh harder.

* * *

><p>Embry and I shot the shit for a while, bounced ideas back and forth about how to best precede once we reached New York. Then we just talked about the trip in general. Neither of us had ever been out to the East Coast and we were both curious to see how different it was from our home. Couple that with the fact it was New York City and it was genuinely hard for the two of us to not feel a little excited we were going.<p>

After a few hours I headed home. Jogging into the backyard in my wolf form, retrieving hidden shorts from where I had left them. I let myself in the back door and sighed as the house was silent. Even knowing Lea was still at work it was odd to be here alone now. Either my imprint or any number of my pack was usually here with me. Wandering across the kitchen I decided to wash the dishes waiting in the sink, just to pass the time and because I knew Lea would be pleased with me for doing so.

Quil called me _domesticated_; I told my friend he was an asshole. I really enjoyed the simplicity of my life with my girlfriend. Having someone there that really understood me and cared about me. For every one item I'd given up by choosing my new life I'd gained ten better things. Still at times I had this small nagging doubt whispering to me, warning me things could not stay this good forever; and for once it had nothing to do with my wolf because he hated this feeling as much as I did.

I tired not to dwell on my worries, fuck I would be an idiot to not take advantage of everything I'd worked so hard for in these last six months. Currently though the house was in better shape then I'd ever seen it in and the old barn out back was a fairly good work shop now and I was just running out of extra things to focus my attention on when I wasn't worrying about how in the hell I was suppose to be a good Alpha.

I sighed heavily letting the water out of the sink. Everyone else had faith in me, it was really time for me to start being able to have faith in myself. I wish it was as easy to do it as it was to say it. I wandered into the living room and flopped down on the couch with a yawn, thinking how good a nap sounded. My eyes drifted close as I tired to no longer focus on anything that was plaguing me.

I woke up to gentle fingers tickling down my ribs, I opened my eyes just enough to see through my lashes. Lea was standing above me. Obviously home and having changed out of her uniform into jeans and a tight fitted shirt. She was looking down at me playfully, biting her lower lip, waiting to see if her touch woke me.

I leapt up suddenly grabbing her slender body into a tight embrace and pulling her back down onto the couch with me. She screamed and laughed, punching at my frame knowing it would have absolutely no effect, but still putting on the show of effort. She was now lying on top of me smiling, hair mussed and everywhere. I leaned up to kiss her, all my darker fears from earlier having vanished in her scent.

Lingering moments as our kiss deepened, finally she pulled away, her lips brushing against my nose a fond expression on her eyes. "How did the pack meeting go?" I wrapped my arms around her allowing my hands to rest on her ass, she smirked at me.

"Better then I'd expected actually. Everyone was pretty much on the same page, a few rumbles but nothing I couldn't handle. Me and Embry will be going with you as soon as you're ready to leave?" I looked at Lea with question, knowing she had to have a lot to tell me.

"I called so many people today." She was tracing along my lips with one of her finger tips as she spoke. "Now that I'm certain how many of us are going I can make the airplane reservations and that will be the last step. Charlie pulled some vacation time together for me, so we have a couple of weeks in the city to get this mess figured out. He also called Captain Jones and I'm unofficially going to be reviewing and helping out on this case. I also called Chris and he was happy for the assistance." I listened intently, knowing I would have to share everything with Embry and Leah the following morning.

"I actually even found a place for us to stay for free. My old roommate Becky said we could crash with her, hopefully Em won't mind the sofa and we can take my old room." I had to admit I was impressed; Lea and Charlie had really gotten this entire trip together in a really short time.

"So our first vacation together." I nipped playfully at her finger as she pulled it away from my mouth.

"To bad it has to revolve around death and destruction." Lea made a face and I felt a twinge of guilt. My girlfriend never expressed any bad feelings about the fact she had basically been sucked into a fucked up story book, But sometimes I wondered if she wouldn't prefer a normal boyfriend. I watched her eyes narrow studying my sudden change of expression.

"Jacob Black I hope you know I'll fight every mythical creature from here to China as long as I get to do it side by side with you." Lea gave me a very pointed look, I hated when she could read me so clearly.

"Do you want me to throw some hot dogs on the grill while you arrange the air line tickets?" I needed to learn to not doubt all the shit in my life so much.

"I would love that." Lea leaned down to kiss me lightly again. I found myself staring deeply into her eyes. I had the feeling this trip was going to be important in a lot of ways. Hopefully maybe I would finally get the balls to say a lot of thing to my girlfriend I've been wanting to. I groaned as she slid off of me to stand next to the couch. She laughed and I stood following her into the kitchen. She headed for the phone and I headed for the fridge. The daily ritual of our evenings continued on.

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><p><em>AN: So many great reviews last chapter all of you made me so happy! :) Big thanks to: <strong>1sweetmoment<strong>, **Juliet1711**,** DayAnnKnight**, **Princess Kitten**, **DragonBby** and **Beaches of La Push**. You all left me such thoughtful reviews that really pushed me to get moving on this chapter. I hope everyone likes what happens here also. _

_The next chapter is going to be told from Embry's POV. I'm excited to see if I do an exceptable job with his character also!_


	5. Chapter 4

**EMBRY**

I sat in the small living room of my house. All my bags were packed for the trip and sitting next to me. I could hear my Mom doing busy work in the kitchen. She had been less then pleased when I announced to her that Jacob, Lea and I were going to New York City. I had tired to be judicial and understanding of her side of things. I knew with a certainty that no matter what age I grew to be a certain part of my Mother's brain was always going to consider me her little boy, but lately it had been growing almost ridiculous.

I was a grown man, who quiet often risked his life for the good of everyone that lived on the reservation. Only with my Mom still to this day not knowing about my dual nature, she tended to think I was just slacking and not making the most out of my life. It didn't help that Quil was pretty much a lost cause lately and I think my Mom really thought I was going to be heading down the same road as him.

Or that even though she liked Lea, she disapproved of the fact she and Jake lived together out of wedlock. Which considering I don't even know who my father is, she probably shouldn't have an opinion on. Truthfully my paternity has also been weighing on my mind a lot more lately. Maybe it was the seed Leah had planted there a few years ago. Just her playing devil's advocate and continuously pointing out that if I shape shift my father had to be someone well known with the shifter gene on our reservation.

I tired not to talk or think about it too much. All of the drama within the pack had finally really settled down when Jake had taken up the Alpha role, so I didn't want to stir a pot of anything. Sometimes though, especially lately when my Mom has really been getting on my case I just wish I had someone else there, to listen to me, someone that could know everything. I felt like I had a void.

A horn blared; that I knew had to be Jake waiting out front in his car. I'd been impressed with how quickly Lea had thrown all the plans together for the trip and equally glad. I needed a few weeks away from everything that had been hanging over me so much. Maybe it would finally give me the space I desired to really figure out all my bullshit. I stood slinging my duffel bag over my shoulder, pausing as I heard the light steps of my Mother approaching from the kitchen.

As annoyed as I had been at her moodiness with me earlier, I couldn't help but feel guilt when I saw her pained expression. This would be the longest the two of us had ever been a part up until this point and I wondered silently what she was going to do without me there. "Well I better get going." My voice was soft as I spoke to my Mom. I didn't want our last few words to one another before I left to be angry. She nodded her head, trying to appear nonchalant even as I could easily scent she was near tears.

"Remember to be careful, you boys aren't used to places like New York City and please call me so I'll know you're alright." I nodded at her request and gathered her small frame into a quick hug. I could feel my mouth draw into an almost awkward half smile, stepping away as suddenly Jake's horn blared again.

"Gotta go Mom, Jake isn't the best at waiting." My Mother nodded, sniffling softly.

"Love you Em!" For how much her over protectiveness could aggravate me, my Mom had tried to do her best for me my entire life. She would always be important to me.

"Same to you Mom!" I ducked out outside before she could get more emotional. My long strides easily covered the ground between my door and Jake's car. Jake was in the drivers seat, grinning at my approach.

"So you finally escaped?" Next to him on the passenger side Lea smacked his shoulder.

"Don't be a jerk!" I could see the two of them waging one of their usual battles of wills as I threw my bag in and slid into the back seat. They loved pushing each others buttons, but it surprised me that they didn't really argue. It was really more a fun game between them both. "How are you today Embry." Lea chose to pointedly ignore my friend and instead turn to talk to me. I grinned as I saw how this annoyed him more then her correcting him earlier.

"Good thanks, happy to be getting on the road." I smiled at Lea and she returned the gesture. Jake put his car into reverse to pull out, reaching out at the same time to grasp Lea's hand closet to his squeezing it gently returning her attention to him. Lea shifted to rest his hand on her thigh so she could fiddle with the radio, Jake was now placated; I shook my head at how easily the two of them understood one another.

I envied Jake a little, certainly not everything that had happened to him before he met Lea. If I had a pile of bullshit, Jake had a mountain. Yet somehow he had pulled his life together. I've always had a lot of respect for Jake. He's my best friend, and he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. But I seriously thought he was just going to spiral away at one point, and I tried. I stayed by his side as much as I could; I wanted him to see all the possibilities that lay before him.

Watching Jake change had been an eye opening experience for me. It made me realize how I really wanted more out of my entire life too. Maybe that had been the second starting point to my current dilemma with not knowing what to do with myself. I fought off a grin as now Lea and Jake were fighting over the song on the radio. I hoped to find my own catalyst for change, anything to help me get out of my own self created rut.

"So Em are you excited?" My attention snapped back up at Jake's question. Seeing that Lea had won the battle and we were now listening to classic rock, I also noticed that she was double checking all of the flight information on her phone.

"Come on Jake seriously, getting out of La Push; for two weeks? How could I not be thrilled?" Jake laughed at my remark.

"Fuck that Em! We're not just getting out we're going to New York City!" My friend's enthusiasm was contagious and all the deeper thoughts that had been plaguing me all morning slowly slipped away onto the back burner of my mind.

"The question is thought, is New York City ready for the two of you?" Lea smirked, looking up fondly at the man next to her, before grinning back at me.

"Well it better be, because we'll be there by the end of today." I could hear the grin in Jake's voice and I laughed.

"Somehow I don't think even as awesome as Jake and I are we could challenge the sheer insanity of that city." I had spread out as best I could in the back of Jake's car, relaxing as we would be riding for a while.

"That might be up for debate." Lea laughed at her remark as I could see Jake giving her a look. Over the last six months I had grown really fond of Lea, and not just because she made my best friend so happy. She was also a very genuine, caring person. She had become an almost older sister figure to a lot of us. Someone you could go to with your problems, who always seemed to have time to listen.

Music drifted around the car, Lea was singing along, Jake was driving and trying to pretend that he didn't like the song. My mind was wandering; once again reviewing all of the facts Lea had been able to give us on the case up until this point. Finally I just didn't want the quiet anymore. "So we're staying with your old roommate?"

Lea glanced back at me, at my question and nodded. "Yeah Becky is great. I think you guys will really like her."

"She wasn't a cop right, she did something else?" Jake asked the question, uncertainty in his voice. It made me realize that as open with us as Lea had been, she didn't really discuss too much about her life back in the city. She loved going over old cases of hers but she didn't really share a lot about her personal life. Thinking about it, she didn't really seem to share much about herself without prompting period.

"No Becky is a writer actually." I heard the hesitation in Lea's voice and apparently so I Jake because he turned to look at her with question.

"Wait is your friend famous or something?" I found myself growing more curious as I watched Lea flush a little like she wasn't certain she wanted to explain this to us.

"She's written quite a few books actually and does really well for herself." Lea sort of paused; I didn't know if I had ever seen her look embarrassed like this before.

"What kind of books does she write?" I couldn't help myself Lea's reaction to Jake's questions was making me want to know. The woman glanced back at me, before getting a sheepish grin on her face.

"Becky writes a series of really popular paranormal romance books…" There was a pregnant pause within the car before both Jake and I burst out laughing. Lea rolled her eyes at us, sitting back in her seat, like this had been just what she had expected us to do.

"Wait what happens in her books?" I could see the amusement on Jake's face. Lea sighed, giving us both slightly dirty looks.

"It's about a private detective that has physic powers. She solves crimes and kind of well, sleeps with every supernatural being she meets." I was still laughing as I listened to Lea's description. Only as I did, my own realization came to me.

"Wait, no fucking way your friend writes the Mackenzie King series?" I blurted out my question before I had fully thought out the fact I was sharing with both the other people in the car that I knew something about this. There was another silence; I cringed just waiting for it.

"Embry…" Jake's tone made me wince. "You're reading women's romance novels?" I had thought my friend was laughing hard before, now I was surprised he could breathe.

"Fuck you Jacob!" I frowned. "Sometimes it's nice to read about women that actually want to fuck werewolves instead of run away from us okay?" I could feel my own color rising in my face, why in the fucking hell had I not thought the entire situation through before sharing this information with Jake, who I'm certain was now going to make fun of me about it for the rest of my life.

Lea heard my tone and I watched her expression fall as she glanced back at me, then frowning she smacked Jake hard in the shoulder. "God you can be such an asshole." I closed my eyes for a brief moment, willing away all the embarrassment I was feeling. Jake and Quil made fun of me enough because of the fact I loved science fiction books, I certainly didn't need to add more fuel to the fire. I turned my head looking out the window.

Jake had stopped laughing, seeing how pissed Lea had gotten at him, he had instead fallen silent. I didn't even want to look over, furious with myself for throwing so much of my own personal bullshit out in the open like I just had. I loved making a complete ass out of myself.

"Embry?" Lea's even tone broke through my suddenly foul mood. I glanced back over; her expression was concerned and earnest.

"Don't worry about it. I didn't mean for all of that to come out sounding as fucking stupid as it did." I was surprised that Jake didn't make a smart ass comment, but he was silently driving; face forward so that I couldn't even tell what he was thinking, Lea studied my expression for a few moments before she nodded, knowing that I didn't really want to share.

"You would probably like her books too Jacob. Some of her sex scenes are really intense; you could probably learn a thing or two." I couldn't help myself; a small smirk broke across my face at Lea's tone as she spoke to my friend. Now it was Jake's turn to scowl.

"Funny I don't remember you complain…" Jake was cut off as Lea leaned over and pressed two fingers against his mouth. Giving him a cross look. He just smiled at her, around her hand and rolling her eyes I watched Lea return the gesture. It struck me again how funny the two of them were together, Lea was so private and Jake was anything but.

I sighed, as the tone in the car turned more causal again. This time Jake took over the radio and starting flipping around stations. I went back to thinking about the shape shifter we were traveling to look for, different ideas swirling around in my head. "Lea?" I had something I was wondering about now that I was hoping wouldn't cause quite the same level of drama.

"Yes?" The woman up front glanced back again. Her face had been downcast and I think she had probably been looking at her phone once more.

"I'm kind of surprised your old partner is cool with you bringing us along to help you?" Lea tended to be really strict and by the book and it seemed to me anyone she would have worked with would have probably had to have been also.

Lea's expression was thoughtful for a moment, and then she broke into her own grin. "Chris is the kind of guy that does whatever he needs to get things done. The end result is what matters most to him, making certain victims are safe or avenged. He can tend to walk a fine line between protocol and productivity. It was part of the reason the two of us worked so well together. We were both driven, but Chris pushed me to bend the rules to stop the crime and I pushed him to not burn the provable bridge he couldn't then cross."

I listened to the woman across from me interested, both because we were going to be working with this guy for the next few weeks and also because this was a part of Lea's life I had never really heard about before. She launched into a story that illustrated her point further. I was listening laughing because it was kind of off the wall and amusing, but my attention wavered and was instead drawn over to Jake. His jaw was set, clenched. Having known Jake pretty much my entire life it didn't take a genius to reason out that he didn't like our current topic of conversation.

I had noticed that the longer Lea was with us, the more her life seemed to revolve around my friend and our pack. When I had first met her Lea had pretty much only talked about her job. What it meant to her, how hard she worked at it. Now though while I knew she loved being a police officer, even if Forks was probably one of the most boring places on the planet between leech attacks. We were just as important to her and she took her job of taking care of all of us just as seriously.

Still listening to how much fun and excitement she used to have with these people none of us have ever met, I imagine it had to be a little threatening to Jake. I wouldn't bring it up now because that would just piss him off, but I filed the idea away for a conversation later when it was just the two of us hanging out.

"Overall I think Chris is really going to like the two of you. You guys are actually only a few years older then his eldest daughter." This time Lea paused in her conversation and I watched the smile on her face waver slightly, her eyes flickering over to Jake, before with a short laugh she continued telling us about Chris's family. The age difference had always bothered Lea way more then it had Jake. I suddenly realized this next couple of weeks could actually turn out to be kind of awkward in a lot of ways.

I observed everything and filed away information in a way I thought a Beta should. In my opinion one of the most important jobs a Beta could do is council the Alpha, which meant the Beta needed to know and see as much as possible. This allowed them to be able to give their Alpha the most valuable opinions, it also allowed us to see problems brewing that maybe our Alpha hadn't noticed yet, because they were focused on more pressing matters, or the issue involved him and his girlfriend. I was getting a very strong impression that as much as I was hoping for some sort of change for my life, that this trip might cause just that for the two people in the car with me.

Lea was going to have to go back and face her old life, with her new life. Which I actually think might be a little difficult for her. I think Lea had built a very definite persona for herself while living and working in the city, one which had changed greatly. I could see both sides of her may now vie for control. I think that this might be a kind of final stepping stone that she needed to finish to be able to really settle into her life with us.

Jake on the other hand was going to have to really deal with for the first time that his girlfriend had a life before him. It hadn't even dawned on me what an actual issue this could be for him. Jake had really considered his life shitty before meeting Lea, but Lea had I think really enjoyed who she had been. It bought my mind back to something Jake had said in passing to me one day. We had been finishing fixing the doors on the barn behind his house when he had made an odd comment about Lea wanting more then what she had. I, at the time had written it off because I would have to be a blind idiot to not see this woman's devotion to my friend. Jake wasn't either, but he was sometimes unable to see the reality of the people around him.

Lea had moved on to listing off facts about the case. I was half listening, enough that I could formulate replies when needed, but I was also just thinking about everything that could happen in the next few weeks. Jake was still silently driving, but I also noticed at some point Lea and he had returned to holding hands and his frame had relaxed because of it. I was beginning to feel a little trapped in this car, honestly we couldn't get to the air port soon enough for my liking.

* * *

><p>We had all checked in and left our baggage and were now waiting near our gate for the plane to arrive. Lea had noticed a little bookstore across the way in the terminal and had wandered over to find something new to read for the flight. I watched Jake's eyes follow her, and I gave him a thoughtful look.<p>

"You don't like it when she talks about her old partner?" It wasn't a confrontation, just an observation. My friend turned to look at me a little surprised which quickly shifted into discomfort.

"Why the fuck would you think that?" I had to fight rolling my eyes; Jake was also a pretty terrible liar.

"Because you looked about ready to break the steering wheel off in the car while she was telling all her stories, come on Jake be real, you can't bullshit me." I gave my friend an earnest look; we had known one another too long for him to even think I wouldn't catch what he was really feeling.

Jake let out a loud sigh, leaning forward his hands resting clasped hanging in front of him. "I don't have anything against the guy. I can tell she's not attracted to him, I figure her relationship with him is closer to her one with Charlie then anything else. It's just…" His brow creased as he glanced back to make certain the woman he was speaking about was still in the store. "I don't want her to realize that her life was better before and that she isn't obligated to do so much for me."

I nodded listening realizing I'd been pretty close within my own assumptions to matching what Jake was actually thinking. "Jake that's bullshit and honestly I think part of you knows that." I gave my friend a considering look, but he just scowled at me. "She has faith in you Jake; I think maybe you need to learn to have the same faith in her." Jake had been left too many times; I think part of him really couldn't trust that this situation would end up any different. Personally I think Lea would rather hurt herself, then my friend.

I watched Jake's brow knit and I could almost see the internal war within him. So much in Jake's life had changed so suddenly, I think in some ways he was still growing into what he was becoming and that it was a little difficult for him.

"Fuck." Jake let out a long, deep sigh, leaning back against the hard surface of the seats below us. Staring up at the white ceiling above him, he was silent for a while. I glanced around the terminal, watching people resting or milling around us. Scenting the air, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Jake's voice broke through my observations.

"About earlier Em, I'm sorry if I was being an asshole. You know I don't really give a flying fuck what you read right? Cause you sounded pretty pissed." Jake had turned his face to study me. Somehow I wasn't completely surprised he had brought this subject up again. I'm just happy he didn't really press for details about why I had gotten so annoyed.

"Forget it. I've just been aggravated lately." I was suddenly very interested in my shoes, noticing each detail about them, not really wanting to look Jake in the face. "I think maybe its good we're getting out of La Push for a few weeks, for more then one reason." Jake silently understood that currently I didn't want to share anymore.

"This trip should be pretty fucking eye opening." I glanced up at the chuckle in his voice and my friend was giving me a half grin. I couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"That's one way to describe it." We both turned at familiar foot falls as Lea crossed back over to where we were sitting. Her hands were empty; I cocked a brow at her.

"You couldn't find anything?" I found myself chuckling at the face she made at my question.

"I guess I'm too picky." She smirked at both of us as her small body slid down next to Jake's. He wrapped his arm around her, as she curled up against him, nuzzling his shoulder. I couldn't help but flash him an _I told you so _look.

Jake scowled at me again, but Lea's nearness had its usual power of relaxation over my Alpha and I could easily see a lot of his pent up emotions melt away. Lea didn't ask what we had been talking about, she was good like that, giving us our space, always here but never controlling. While waiting I dug through my bag and pulling out the paperback I was currently reading settled back to pass the time.

I was half engrossed in my book, but also half listening to the story Jake was currently telling Lea about Paul. It was an early shifter story. We had all done some dumb ass shit when we first started turning into wolves. We all looked up surprised when they called for our plane to start boarding. Standing and stretching, picking up our carry-ons we made our way towards where we would get onto the plane, our real journey finally beginning.

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><p><em>AN: My first attempt at Embry hope his characterization meets everyone's approval! <em>

_I've had so much great feedback and reviews from this last chapter I really can't thank everyone enough. Special thanks to **Juliet1711**,** sthrnpanther06**, **Beaches of La Push**,** DayAnnKnight**, **shippolove844** and **DragonBby**__ for their reviews last chapter! _


	6. Chapter 5

**UNKNOWN**

The spring air in the city was cool. I was finally starting to adjust to living in a world of glass and concrete. The fact the stars never shone in the sky and the never ending lights made real darkness almost impossible to find. At first when I came here it had been such a culture shock from my previous home I had almost felt an instinctual fear, which had pissed me off.

Now I was adjusting. I was smarter, faster, and stronger then the weak, stupid creatures that milled around me like dull faced sheep. I took what I wanted, I lived were ever I choose. None of them would stop me, or they would meet my sharp teeth and racking claws. Still I had to be cunning. I kept to the places that most of the population here seemed to despise and forget. It made the prey easier to capture because no one cared about them.

Tonight in my human flesh I'd traveled to a different portion of this city. It was cleaner, brighter and smelled better. It was obvious that the people here were more affluent and had the ability to more easily care for their homes and their lives. It reminded me of where I'd come from and that just further aggravated my senses. I hated my past; everything about it filled me with a cold fury. I tried to keep my emotions pressed down, none of that mattered now, I was free to do whatever I pleased; and tonight I was going to hunt.

Universally everywhere drunken people were the easiest to convince to go to places, which a normal human sheep would deem to dangerous. So I trolled a few different bars, looking for the correct sheep, sick of filthy, disgusting food, feeling more then one kind of hungry this evening.

Finally on my forth bar I saw her. She was perfect. The group she was with was smaller, chattering annoying woman displaying themselves trying to attract attention from any males they deemed worthy of them. She was easily recognized as the Omega of her group, docile, pandering to the demands of her lead female. I licked my lips studying the plain view of flesh she was supplying me courtesy of her clothing choice. Her legs were long, lean and strong. She would run fast when I finally decided to chase her and I loved when my prey worked hard to escape.

My human form was as attractive as my wolf form. Thanks to my dual nature I was biologically strong, tall, board shouldered. I kept my dark hair trimmed and I noticed woman tended to compliment me frequently on my icy blue eyes. Now I simply needed to herd my sheep to some where more private so we could play.

The whole group was watching me from across the room. I could see disappointment and resentment from the rest of her friends as I choose to speak to my sheep. Smiling at her tenderly, carefully separating her from her herd. I tortured myself through conversation with her, making up whatever lies crossed my mind. Feeding her a steady stream of strong drinks, enough to make her complacent but still able to function.

Her flesh smelled so delicious, basting in a steady stream of alcohol, some flowery perfumed and sweat. I touched her, kindly on her face, on her arm and on her thigh. She was weak willed and my sheep decided she could trust me completely after only a short time period. This is why sheep are so stupid.

She left with me, clinging provocatively to my arm. Showing off to her friend's, I could scent the jealously from them. I allowed her those few proud moments, knowing they certainly wouldn't affect my pleasure later in the slightest. We walked, she was still talking, and I was trying to decide where the two of us were going to actually go.

There was small corner garden. Large enough that it would be private, I took her there. There was a stone bench towards the back and in the weak light of the building around us, suddenly intensely missing the moon; I fucked her. My dirty sheep loved it. Clawing at my frame with her nails, repeatedly telling me how amazing I was. She was warm and wet and felt wonderful after a few weeks of forced celibacy. I couldn't screw anything dirty or smelly, my sheep was neither she was delicious.

I finished, one hungry sated, another growing. She was still babbling on about nonsense. I had giving up caring. I asked her if she liked wolves. She had been talking about some actor and was disarmed by my question. She told me she didn't like dogs, one had bit her when she was a child. I felt my intense frown.

I informed her wolves were not dogs. Dogs groveled at the feet of humanity, begging for their love and scraps of whatever they could acquire. Wolves were better then men, they were proud, noble and strong. She looked at me like she thought I was crazy. My sheep stood then and I could tell she had decided I was strange and she was going to leave.

I hate when anyone didn't share my opinion, but hated most of all when something as stupid as a sheep looked down on me.

The explosion of my transformation frightened her; the scream she let out broke through the night air. She ran, much as I predicted, but she was still intoxicated and didn't give me as much of a challenge to capture her as I'd hoped. Still her flesh tasted sweet as her blood smeared around my muzzle. By the time I'd gorged my fill I could feel the impeding dawn. Dragging the body under some bushes I ran off down an alleyway, enjoying the feel of my true form.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Sort of a short chapter this time and slightly different as it is from the villains point of view. I kind of enjoyed toying around with seeing the other side of things and there will probably be a few more of these over the course of the story. I hope everyone else finds this as interesting as me. Next chapter will be longer again and not only will we learn more about Becky, but it's actually from her point of view! <em>

_So many reviews last chapter! I can't even express how much all of you inspire me and keep me working at this! Huge thanks to: **shippolove844**, **Princess Kitten**,** DayAnnKnight**, **sthrnpanther06**, **1sweetmoment**, **DragonBby** and **Beaches of La Push**. All of your opinions on Embry really set my mind at ease that I was doing alright with the character thank you for your kind words!_


	7. Chapter 6

**BECKY**

Arriving at the airport I was unsurprised to find out that Lea's flight was late by almost twenty minutes. I sighed softly to myself, pushing through the hustle and bustle of the crowd surrounding me until I found a fairly quiet corner in which to wait in and took a seat. I pulled out a book but found my thoughts wandering more then I was actually reading.

I'd been surprised when my friend had called me a couple of days before out of the blue and announced she was returning to the city and wondering if she could stay with me. It hadn't fazed me when she mentioned it involved work and a dangerous case she needed to help on, or her partner Chris. I'd been a little stunned when she mentioned bringing her mysterious new boyfriend and one of his friend's along. Lea usually didn't like distractions while she was working.

I was currently stuck on plotting out my next novel though and the distraction of my friend and her somewhat crazy life was welcome. Lea rambling on about cases usually helped inspire me come up with ideas for my work, so as much as I would simply enjoy the visit from my friend I was also hoping it would help me clear my head and get some new ideas.

I've missed Lea. Along with another friend, Mairead, the three of us had been as close as sisters earlier in our lives. First Mairead had gotten an amazing opportunity and moved across the sea to Europe, so for a couple of years it had mostly been Lea and I. Then one day she had come home and announced to me she was moving across the country.

Part of me had been shocked, but another piece of my brain had been expecting something like this from her for some time. I was surprised because sometimes I thought Lea was almost co-dependent on her job. It meant more to her then maybe anyone's occupation should. Yet at the same time I'd known Lea for so long, I remembered when she had used to live in the country. She never really adapted completely to life as a city girl and a part of me had always expected her to head back out into greener places.

She'd even asked me to come along, but I had been caught up in deadlines and trying to finish my last novel and just hadn't had time to put together something as large as a move. Maybe I was a little to involved in my own job also. I can't quiet express how astounded I'd been when a few weeks later after getting herself settled in Lea had called me to inform me she had met someone. In fact I'd been certain she had been kidding me until around the end of the call I could hear a deep male voice in the back ground, and he had persuaded Lea to get off the phone rather abruptly.

Lea just hadn't been seriously involved with anyone in so long I'd figured it would be a fling. Yet instead it just became more serious and slowly I began to piece together a picture of a new life my friend had with this man that she seemed so completely in love with that it somewhat blew my mind. I was happy for her, mystified but pleased. Now I was extremely curious to meet this Jacob Black, because I couldn't help but wonder how he had so easily stolen the heart of my often times extremely serious friend.

The buzzing of my phone caused me to literally jump and looking down I saw I had a text message from Lea. I smiled reading that they had landed and were heading for their luggage. I threw my book back inside my bag going in that direction myself, suddenly ridiculously excited to see my friend.

I sighed as I was jostled around in the crowd all surging towards the luggage area. I enjoyed watching people's faces, sometimes someone random could give me the best idea for a character. I was edging along the crowd thinking about texting Lea again when two particular guys drew my attention. It was rare in the city that you could stand out, but these two did. Both were gigantic, with broad shoulders and tight muscled frames, accented by the fact that even though it was a chilly day, both men where just in slightly snug tee shirts. Both had dark hair and copper complexions, both almost staggeringly attractive. The shorter haired of the two gave off the persona of a hard-ass, glaring down a guy that bumped into his side.

His friend's hair was slightly longer and his height and build just a bit smaller, but he had such a quiet power to him. The two moved as a unit but the longer haired guy seemed to be more inclined to study everything around him, almost like I was doing. I was enjoying watching them when the crowd in our area started to thin a little and the shorter haired guy suddenly came to a stop. He looked down, and I realized they had a third companion that I hadn't been able to see. He smiled downwards suddenly and I watched his tough guy demeanor melt away into an almost unreal look of devotion. I changed positions curious now who the third person with these two could be and felt my jaw actually drop open.

Lea was standing next to the short haired man. It was hard for me to see from where I was standing but I was fairly certain the two were holding hands. I'd asked Lea a couple of times to send me photos of her new friends but she had always been terrible at taking pictures in any appropriate span of time. Somehow Jacob was nothing like what I'd pictured him being from Lea's stories about him. I felt my eyes linger on his friend now. I think Lea had said his name was Embry. Chiseled and gorgeous I couldn't quiet believe he was going to be sleeping on my sofa for the next few weeks.

I pushed through a small group of people, breaking into the opening Jacob and Embry seemed to have made around them. I felt myself blink in surprise. I couldn't completely believe my usually fiercely independent friend was now crushed against the large man behind her, while he had an almost instinctually protective posture around her. Lea was silently looking about obviously waiting for their bags when she happened to glance at me. I watched her face light up and squealing she pulled herself out of Jacob's arms.

"Becky!" Lea crossed the space between us, quickly embracing me into a hug. I returned the gesture feeling the shock of everything wear off slightly at the joy of my friend having returned.

"I can't believe you're actually here!" I could hear the excitement in my own voice as I watched both eyes of the men behind my friend study me. Lea was still smiling brightly, grabbing my arm now to pull me back towards where she had just been standing.

"Becky, this is Embry and Jake." I noticed Lea place an almost possessive hand over the chest of her boyfriend as she introduced him. I gave him a polite smile, but felt my eyes once again drawn to Embry without even wanting them to be. His dark gaze looked back at me curiously. I fought against the blush trying to rise to me cheeks.

"It's nice to meet you." Jacob inclined his head in a polite manner, his eyes following Lea as she swiftly moved back towards the carousel the luggage was arriving on. I noticed the gigantic pink suit case that I knew was Lea's. Neither of us would be considered "girlie" but for some odd reason one Christmas both of our families had purely by chance purchased us the same pink luggage. It had been laughable to us at the time, but it really did make your things easier to find in the airport.

Lea stepped forward ready to wrangle her large bag to the ground in front of her, when wordless Jake stepped to her side and instead easily lifted Lea's luggage off for her. I waited for what I knew was my friend's usual reaction. She liked to do things on her own, take care of herself and I knew she was now going to as politely as possible take her bag away from the man at her side. I blinked when it didn't happen. Instead she just smiled up at Jake, I could see her speaking to him and I had to assume she was thanking him. I must have looked a little stunned, because I couldn't quiet believe how much Lea had changed.

"Jake's good to her don't worry." Embry was suddenly by my side as I watched all of this. He must have noticed my odd expression and deduced the slightly wrong reasoning for it.

"Oh, that's not it. I'm not used to seeing Lea allow herself to depend on someone else quiet that much." I glanced up at Embry and felt myself swallow quickly. He was very close to me now, his height towering over my frame, his cologne giving me a heady feeling.

He laughed and it made his eyes sparkle. "Yeah Jake has definitely improved for the better himself too." Then Embry winked at me. I had always been accused by my friend's of falling for people too fast and I felt like I was actually drowning in the essence of this man at this moment. Embry paused getting a peculiar expression on his face and I watched his nostrils flare for a moment.

"Earth to Em!" The moment between us shook and broke as Jake suddenly threw a duffel straight at the chest of his friend. "Your stuff arrived and I grabbed it for you." Jake had not only Lea's suitcase dragging behind him but also his own duffel slung over his shoulder. Lea rushed back over to me I'm certain excited to get caught up as we walked to my car. I was suddenly glad it was fairly large because I had not been expecting to fit two giants and their belongings when I arrived here today.

"Pink really is your color man!" Embry fell into step next to his friend I could hear the teasing in his voice as Jake just scowled at him.

"Shut the fuck up!" I blinked as Lea was starting to ask me questions, pretty certain I had just heard Jake growl at his friend.

"Becky?" The confusion in Lea's tone informed me I had not been paying attention to her while she had been talking; I smiled sheepishly, trying to focus solely on her.

"Sorry I missed that." I gestured around trying to feign problems with the crowded airport. Lea looked at me curiously for a moment, but didn't implore any further.

"Did you get your last book finished by your deadline?" Considering that this book was the reason I hadn't been able to leave with her I was unsurprised Lea had asked about it.

"Just barely." I rolled my eyes in a playful manner. "And my editor is already all over my ass about starting a new one. He wants something different, to drive up more sales, I'm kind of clueless what to do." I sighed and Lea gave me a sympathetic look. We were nearly through the crowd at the airport and into the parking garage.

"Well I'll tell you about the case we're working when we get back to your place, if you like?" I smiled at my friend, because of how well she knew me. I nodded, thankfully. We were so engrossed in speaking to one another we didn't even notice a man stepping into our path until we nearly collided with him.

"Can I tell you about a great limited time offer, I have just for you ladies?" I was unsurprised when he was attempting to sell us something. I had been offered two credit card deals just on my way inside. What did baffle me was what happened next. Lea stepped backwards, her back pressing directly into Jake's body as he was moving towards the man who had stopped us. He was glaring down the sales men and I realized he thought the guy had impure motivates and was stepping up to rescue us.

I watched the sales man freeze, surprised by the sudden appearances of the large man and he swiftly turned on his heel and just walked away. I couldn't help but laugh I'd never seen anyone get rid of one of those annoying peddlers quiet that simply. Glancing over I could see Embry too was chuckling. Lea had turned; her hand was once again on Jake's chest. I could see the two of them were talking to one another, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. After a brief moment Lea walked back up to me smiling again.

"Jake's a little off set. Neither he nor Embry are used to crowds like this and all the noise and chaos. It's going to take him a little while to really feel comfortable I think." The soft smile on my friend's face made me give her a considering look.

"I never expected to see you like this." I couldn't stop my smirk at my comment, Lea faltered for a moment and looked at me confused.

"Like what?" I didn't bother to answer her question instead pulling on her arm, hearing the giggle as it left my mouth.

"Let's get to the car before your boyfriend assaults someone." I laughed, as Lea still looked a little baffled, but eventually broke into her own grin.

"Sounds good." Both of us were laughing and I think from the way he was frowning Jake had an idea it was partially because of him. Glancing back I could see Embry slap his friend's shoulder with a grin, Jake finally, begrudgingly returning the gesture. If Jake was like fire, Embry reminded me of water, both powerful and consuming. Each could be beneficial or destructive in their own ways. Together they were two of the most intriguing men I had met in some time. I could see why Lea enjoyed being around both of them.

Thankfully we entered the parking garage shortly after that and with only a couple of presses of the panic button on my keys we were able to find my car. "You really don't have that good of a sense of direction do you?" Lea had fallen back with Jake again, and much to my pleasure Embry had strolled up by me. Well I was pleased about it at least until he started teasing me.

"Everything looks the same in the city." I pouted, not wishing to look foolish in front of my new guests.

"You just need to look for subtle things. Like see we have walked by this pillar twice already because someone drew a naked lady on it with marker." Embry gestured to the picture and even I couldn't help but start laughing.

"Oh yeah that's _really _subtle." I grinned rolling my eyes at him. Embry just smirked more.

"Well you didn't notice it until I pointed it out now did you?" Thankfully we reached my car and I didn't have to reply. I had a feeling whatever I said it would come off as maybe more smart-ass then I needed to be at this moment. I popped open the trunk and stepped aside as Jake crammed Lea's suitcase in it.

"Why don't you throw your duffel in too Em, we can fit my bag in the back with Lea and I." I blinked as Embry followed Jake's instructions. Not realizing he was going to be riding up front with me, yet looking at the size of both men, it made more sense to stagger the larger people with the smaller people in both sections of the car.

The guys were talking trying to decide how to best fit both the suitcase and the duffel in the small space, Lea snuck over next to me as the debate raged on. "So, what do you think?" I knew she was curious what I thought about her boyfriend, but currently I had butterflies realizing I was going to have to think of something to talk to Embry about for the whole ride home.

"He's good looking." I smirked sideways at my friend as she made a face at me.

"That's not the _only _reason I love him Becky!" I was about to tease Lea when out of the corner of my eye I noticed Jake's gaze flit back to us like he could hear what we were talking about, which had to be impossible over the traffic noise of the garage and the fact Lea and I had been speaking in low tones.

"You're obviously happy, that is all that really matters to me." I was speaking to Lea but watching Jake. His gaze snapped back to Embry and elbowing his friend the two started to play scuffle. I figured I had to be imagining things and simply pushed the idea from my mind.

"So did you get the bags in the car?" Lea had to speak in a raised tone over the small shoving match the two guys were having. Freezing, both turned grinning at her. I really couldn't honestly decide whose smile was more beautiful Jake or Embry's and I was left to wonder if Lea spent her entire life now surrounded by gigantic, gorgeous men?

Jake crossed the space between himself and Lea; I had to cover my mouth to suppress the laugh at the swagger in his step. He pulled her roughly against him, his gaze dark and penetrating. I couldn't help but wonder what he was going to do next. Leaning down, Jake looked at Lea hard before breaking into another huge smile. "Yes!" He answered her initial question about the car, I could actually see Lea's breathing stop for a moment when he had gotten so close and then she punched at him when she realized he was teasing her.

Jake for his part just laughed at her efforts, I cocked my brow and felt my gaze drift over to Embry who was watching his friend's while shaking his head. His stare met mine and he rolled his eyes for me to see. It was hard to classify the dynamics between these three, they were all obviously very close, but it was something more then that, some connection I just hadn't grasped yet.

"Maybe I should ride up front with you Becky and these two nitwits can cram themselves in the back." Lea stepped around Jake, making to walk past him and towards me. Jake immediately grabbed her, enveloping her in arms, whispering in her ear. I watched Lea bit her lip, trying not to laugh, before she smirked at me. Nothing had to be said I could see the original plan was still in action. My car was already unlocked and Jake and Lea climbed in crushing Jake's bag in there with them.

Embry shrugged at me, shaking his head a pleasant smile on his face. I moved towards the driver's side of my vehicle. Still surprised by just how different my friend was, I mean she was still the same caring person, but she was happier. In a way I don't think I had ever realized she was lacking before until I saw her with Jake and how she acted around and towards him. I really couldn't wait for a little girl time because I wanted every detail of how all of this had happened.

Everyone now in my car, I started it up and backing out, started to drive out of the parking garage. "So you write the Mackenzie King books?" I was surprised by Embry's question. Not so much that Lea had told them what I did, but that I heard recognition of my work in his voice.

"Yes, why do you read them?" I was paying attention to a turn and barely saw the sheepish smile that crossed his face. In the back I could hear Lea pointing out things to Jake and them having their own conversation.

"Some of them, I love to read, it's kind of my escape from everything." I felt my heart melt at the sentiment of his words.

"I know just what you mean. I used to read so much, but now I feel like I spend almost all my time producing books for other people." I could hear the sigh in my voice. Embry looked at me thoughtful for a moment.

"But what a fantastic job, to bring people hopes and dreams like you do." I was at a red light and my face turned to meet the eyes of the man next to me as he spoke. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things anyone had ever said to me.

"Jesus Em you sound like a Lifetime Original movie." Jake's head popped up between the seats his teasing tone breaking the spell that had momentarily existed between Embry and I. I flushed looking back down at my steering wheel. Embry pushed Jake back into his section of the car, frowning at him.

"Just because your idea of deep thoughts Jake is the bullshit you read on the back of your cereal box in the morning doesn't mean we're all like that." I blinked looking back up as this time I was certain Jake growled and was even more surprised when Embry growled back at him.

"Will you two quit acting like fourth graders? Becky's going to think I'm a lunatic for bringing you both here." Silence followed Lea's harsh tone. I really wanted to ask if they had seriously just growled at each other, but didn't want to start up any misconduct again. Finally I felt safest talking to my friend.

"Lea how was the flight?" I glanced up at her in the rear view mirror, she was squished between Jake and his bag in the back and I fought off a laugh.

"I slept pretty much the whole way, Jake and Embry discovered flying is not for tall people." I could see the disdain in Embry's face and figured even without looking Jake's expression had to be pretty much the same.

"I was pretty certain I was never going to get the feeling back into my left leg." The tone of Embry's voice made me laugh. After that the conversation turned to lighter topics. Between Lea and I we were able to answer most of the guy's questions about the city and by the time we had reached my house in Brooklyn we had decided on where to have dinner that night.

Lea insisted on Ray's pizza and both Jake and Embry agreed I think almost purely out of curiosity of how good the food actually was after Lea raved about it for about fifteen minutes straight. First though everyone got settled in. Both Jake and Embry were impressed I had a small house; I think they had maybe been expecting a shoebox size apartment.

Everyone's bags were inside, and we were just getting ready to leave when my giant tom cat Mick came strolling down into my living room. He had probably been sleeping in my bed room, as that was his favorite spot and tended to grace you with his presence more than rush to see you. Mick saw Lea first and trotted over, the two of them had always gotten along well, but I was surprised when he skidded to a spot.

Jake was seated next to Lea, and he and Mick had a small stare down. I was surprised when first my cat started growling and then with a loud series of hisses he ran from the room and back up the stairs. "Wow, I mean Mick's usually a little friendlier then that!' I glanced over at Lea, but she was looking at Jake and I could see hiding a laugh.

"Jake is more a dog person I guess." I watched the large man scowl at her but then both of them and even Embry seemed to find this rather funny. I was about to comment about it myself when Lea rose and suggested we go get the pizza, the topic not that important so I didn't bother to press it. I figured Mick would just make up with the men later.

Dinner went well. Embry and Jake, enjoyed exploring a little of the city. Lea had been right from her comment earlier. I could see at first both were a little off set by the crowds, but from how Lea described the area they all lived it, it didn't completely surprise me that New York could seem a little over whelming at first. By the time we made our way back to my house both men seemed to be adjusting well to the change and were back to joking around and driving Lea crazy.

Once inside, Jake and Embry both decided they should call home. It was starting to get late here which meant it was early evening on the West Coast and they both seemed to think it was a good time to reach their families. Lea and I wandered up to the roof, I had a small garden and some seats up there and even in the waning daylight the temperature was still comfortable.

Lea curled up on the one large lounge chair and I took the seat next to her putting my feet up on my small table. "It seems really quiet now with just the two of us." I smirked at Lea and she laughed at my observation.

"Jake and his friends can be a bit of a handful." I once again registered my own private surprise at the look on my friend's face and her tone.

"You must really love him?" I asked the obvious question to me. Lea's smile became wider.

"Yeah I do. He's just such an amazing guy. Not perfect by any means, but really who is. He's so good to me." I heard the waver of emotion in her voice and watched her gaze fall.

"But?" I could easily tell there was more to her comment that she had neglected to share. Lea signed looking up at me with a steady gaze.

"Sometimes I wonder when he's going to wise up and realize that practically every woman on the planet would give up a limb to be with him. I still have so much baggage and he's still young and…" I couldn't help myself I leaned forward and smacked Lea on her leg. She looked down where I had just hit her and back up at me confused.

"What was that for?" I gave her a hard considering look.

"No situation's guaranteed, but I think Jake already has moved a mountain just getting you to be so devoted to him." I watched Lea's lips purse and she shook her head. "You know I'm right don't look at me like that. How many times did we sit right up here having conversations about how you didn't want to get into a serious relationship because it would interfere with your work?" My look to my friend became pointed. "I was always more the romantic and you more the realist, but Lea even just seeing you two together for this afternoon you have an almost cosmic connection."

Lea frowned. "Now you're just making us sound like some of the characters from one of your books." I blinked realizing she was right.

"You always liked my books." My expression was earnest and finally Lea threw her hands up smiling again a look of defeat on her face.

"I know, I shouldn't worry, but I can't help myself sometimes. Did you see the way other women were looking at him while we were walking to and from Rays?" I smiled a superior look as I heard the jealousy in her tone.

"And just who _was_ he walking with all that time and who did he come back here with?" I enjoyed pointing the flaws out in Lea's theories when I knew she was being too judgmental on herself.

"Are you guys up here?" Lea jumped at Jake's tone calling from the bottom of the stairway to the roof. I could see the previous subject was to be dropped now. It was actually kind of sweet in a weird way to see Lea act like such an idiot over love.

"Yeah, we're just relaxing for a bit." I could hear the tromping footsteps up the stairs at Lea's reply and first Jake and then Embry strode onto the rooftop with us. Embry was smiling, but Jake paused just looking across at my friend like he could tell she had been out of sorts a moment ago. Lea forced a smile on her face and I could see she didn't want to make the evening awkward for any of us, including her.

"How's your Dad?" Jake was still giving her a curious look at her expression, but crossing the garden, Lea scooted up so that Jake could squeeze onto the lounge chair behind her. She leaned back against the much larger man and I watched visibly how touching one another changed both of their demeanors. Calm came over each of them. It charmed me in an odd way.

"He's fine; in fact everyone is doing well. Leah has been giving Paul a lot of hell and Paul has been bitching about it. I'm almost sorry I'm missing seeing it." Jake laughed and Lea joined in, before politely explaining to me who the friends were they were talking about.

Embry had strolled over to and flopped down in one of the other chairs as Jake had spoken. Lea turned her attention to him. "Is your Mom handling everything alright Em?" I could hear the concern in her voice and privately wondered why it was there.

"Yeah she was little down I guess. I told her to get out and do something. It's not good for her to be cooped up at home alone." I didn't pry for more information about Embry's family life, but I had to admit I wanted to know what was wrong. We all small talked for another twenty minutes or so. Lea and I told Jake and Embry how the two of us had met and the boys told us stories about when they were younger and the trouble they had gotten into.

The sun had fallen and the breeze had picked up, but I seemed like the only one that was cold. Lea was curled against Jake and he and Embry seemed impervious to the temperature. Finally Lea must have noticed me shiver because she let out a large yawn. "Well I'm beat from all the traveling today and I think I'm going to turn in."

She made as if to stand and Jake wrapped his arms around her waist suddenly pulling them both up. "I'll join you, if you don't mind." Lea shook her head at him and kissed his bicep. I cleared my throat.

"I think I'm going to head down too, I'll grab you blankets and stuff Embry." The other man rose smiling at me.

"Thanks a lot!" I blew out the few candles around the roof as we all made out way down. I could hear Embry making a comment to Jake about not keeping all of us up all night and I bit back a laugh, trying not to add something of my own.

I gave Embry a pillow and blankets and started towards my room. Lea popped out of hers to wish me a good night, I bid her the same smirking. Reaching my bed I laughed at the incredibly indignant look Mick was giving me. "Don't be like that!" I petted my cat for a moment listening to his soft purr. "I think this is going to be quite an exciting next couple of weeks."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Now the story moves to New York City, It's strange to me as I write this to see just how much location change can alter the whole feel of a story.<em> _Glad everyone found the shape shifter chapter interesting. Now the plot can really start moving along!_

_This past week has been amazing in terms of people favoriting both of my pieces and story alerting them and I've also gotten a bunch of new reviewers so a huge hello to all of my new readers! Thank you to **shippolove844**, **Princess Kitten**,** Juliet1711**, **Beaches of La Push**, **csfla**, **DayAnnKnight**, **DragonBby** and **Princess Aria Romanov** for all of their thoughtful reviews of the last chapter. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and Becky's character just as much! _


	8. Chapter 7

**JAKE**

I was tired but I hadn't been able to actually fall asleep yet. I felt slightly on edge, my senses extra sharp. The amount of people, smells, and sounds everything in this city was overwhelming to me. Lying in bed, pressed against Lea who was on her back lightly sleeping, my face currently buried in her hair which was spread around her head on her pillow. Her scent calming me, but still I felt restless.

I had lived in La Push my entire life and suddenly being transplanted in the middle of such an enormous city, with my heightened senses; I didn't realize how overpowering it could feel. Lea had also felt out of sorts most of the afternoon. I could smell her own unease from her frame and that just made me feel tenser. I wished I could shift and go for a long, hard run, but even that was too dangerous currently until I had both a better idea of what we were dealing with and how to properly act in this new setting.

Instead I'd been lying here, just thinking over the day, wishing Lea hadn't fallen asleep as quickly as she had because I wouldn't have minded a conversation with her about everything I was feeling. She'd been so worn out that I had just urged her to rest. I sighed, deciding that currently I just needed to stop worrying so much until I actually had something concrete to be concerned about.

My eyes were finally starting to feel heavy and drift close, my thoughts becoming more hazy, when Lea made an odd noise and I woke again, laying still silently watching her. Lea's breathing was still heavy and steady and I thought maybe I had imaged her making the sound in the first place. I was about to force my eyes close again when the woman next to me let out a light moan.

I was immediately alert now. Raising my head just enough to be able to easily watch Lea's face, her lips were moving slightly and I glanced down my brow rising as her hips ground down into the mattress below her. My nostrils flared, curious. Suddenly the woman at my side quietly groaned out my name as I easily picking up the first hints of her scent of arousal. A sly smile graced my face as I realized my woman was having a dirty dream about me.

It was a perfect distraction, I licked my lips, raising a hand and as light as a feather I traced my finger tips around the top of one of her already taunt nipples. I felt the whine leave my throat as the smell of her desire for me just intensified. Heat began to build in my groin and I knew I wasn't going to be able to ignore my need for her.

I slide down the bed we were sharing. Smaller then our usual one, but still large enough that I could maneuver around a little, still presently I found it simpler to half crouch on the floor below the bed, scooting up sliding Lea's legs up and over my massive shoulders. The movements causing the woman now above me to half awaken. She made a confused noise uncertain I think if she was awake or still dreaming. I didn't give her time to think about it before I drove my hungry mouth into the warm heat between her thighs.

I was now rock hard, my cock rubbing teasingly against the soft sheets of the bed below me as my tongue made love to the woman I adored. Her taste and scent made every nerve in my frame scream with an almost painful lust. At the edge of my reason I could feel my wolf stir. He had scented his mate was ready for his attention and it woke his animal desire within me.

Lea was becoming more vocal and I was afraid would be embarrassed if she woke everyone else in the house, I raised my face, kissing her thigh about to tease her about keeping quiet when the sight that met my eyes caused something to explode inside of my brain. Lea was flushed and panting and beautiful in everyway that I enjoyed knowing our love making made her. She was also different.

Lea was still flat on her back, her face turned and nuzzling the pillow she was resting on, her eyes pressed tightly shut. Her arms were both raised to that they were resting on either side of her head her palms up turned and facing me. I felt my breathing grow hard and my teeth clench. Never in all our love making had I ever seen Lea look as submissive to me as she did right at this moment.

Inside of me my wolf snapped. Without though I leapt swiftly back onto the bed, feeling the growl leave from deep within my chest. Lea's eye fluttered open looking up at me a little confused about suddenly pausing my attention to her. I was panting, straddled over the much smaller woman. My hands griped her, firmly, but not painfully. "Turn over." My voice sounded strained and commanding, and Lea hesitated for a moment to comply. Eventually she simply followed my motions and now on her hands and knees, she turned to try to look at me.

Up until this point in my life as a shape shifter the only time I'd ever really strongly felt my wolf was when there was danger and my body strained to transform. At this moment he was pressing tightly against whatever edge of my humanity held him back. I could actually feel a ripple in my skin as I fought the urge to just explode into my canine form above my girlfriend. We were both fighting for control, but we both also wanted the same thing at the moment.

I bit Lea's shoulder hard as she tried to look at me and I could hear her cry out which quickly turned into a moan as pressing my head tightly against hers to keep her from turning my hips ground my cock against the soft folds between her thighs. Lea was lifting her ass, rubbing it against the bottom of my stomach begging silently for me to be inside her, my hot breath heating her neck and shoulders. I wasn't ready yet, there was something I needed first.

"Submit." My tone was a strangled growl, the wolf inside of me, struggling and crawling at my hold over it. I could feel Lea's intake of breath, scent her confusion over me acting differently from any way I had ever been with her before. At this moment I couldn't even really picture what I wanted her to do, but the wolf within me knew, he was demanding it and it caused an all consuming desire inside of me.

"Submit." I growled vocally this time, pressing my upper body against Lea's biting her shoulder again, wishing I could explain just what my fevered passion was demanding from her. Somehow, almost instinctively Lea seemed to know. I felt the whine leave my throat of pleasure as she collapsed on her two front arms, her face pressing sideways down into the pillow her eyes looking up at me with a gaze of complete surrender, then she looked away, a picture of absolute submission.

My wolf stirred strongly within my frame again and I felt the same supernatural ripple swift across my skin. I reached down and between us, stroking my cock a few time, feeling the twitch of the blood pumping within it. I eased the head of my member against the wet folds of her sheath, groaning my face pressed tightly against her hair and neck I thrust into Lea hard.

She was so small, my arms and legs were both straddled around her frame, and I continued to bit at her back, shoulders and neck as I did what I would only describe as fucking her. Her eyes now closed, her face pressed against the pillow underneath but I could hear the moans of pleasure I was causing Lea to make. My pace was hard and rough, and inside I could still feel my wolf right against the surface. It was a connection to him like I'd never had before. We were both enjoying the feel of our woman, I would sometimes groan like a man and sometime whine like a beast. I never left my human form but as I continued rutting into the woman below me, I knew I wasn't simply Jake. I was the Alpha with his chosen mate.

I shivered with a blissful pleasure every time Lea soared into orgasm, her already tight body clamping down forcefully on mine. I lost count of how many times this happened, until the building in my own groin grew to such intensity that I couldn't hold off any longer. I exploded inside my woman, with one last hard deep thrust as I gasped out a loud, harsh cry.

My chest was heaving. I fell to the side where I'd been attempting to sleep just a short while ago. I let out a deep sigh, my world suddenly filled with the scent of my girlfriend, sex and wolf. My canine side placated, I could feel pressure from his frame dwindle inside of me. I just breathed for a few moments, trying to reason just what had occurred to me. I'd never felt my wolf so strongly while in my human skin and I was surprised that it actually hadn't been unpleasant.

"Jacob?" My attention drew from within at the sound of my imprint's voice. I turned over on my side to face her; she had slid down to her stomach, just laying there a look of satisfaction on her face. I could also see she was curious what had just happened, at this moment though all I wanted to do was kiss her. I captured her mouth, now gentle, pulling her small frame against mine; wondering how she had so perfectly known what to do.

"Baby you're amazing." I drew my mouth away from hers instead planting soft kisses against her face and hair in between my words. She was still panting, her breasts pressing delightfully against my chest.

"Was that you or your wolf?" Lea was searching my face trying to read what had just occurred between us. I considered my answer for a moment before replying it, actually not completely certain.

"It was both of us." I'd pulled back enough to watch my imprint's face, wondering if maybe this information would make her uncomfortable. Lea studied me for a few long moments before I watched surprised as her gaze grew soft.

"I love both of you so much, that was beyond incredible." Her tone became a giggle at the end of her comment, which brought a grin to my face. I loved being told how good I was.

"How did you know what I wanted?" My hand had moved to her back, tracing along her spine as I spoke, not able to hide my curiosity.

"Actually I guessed." Lea's face became sheepish. "I mean you know after I found out about you guys I did all the research about wolves and shape shifters. When you said submit, I took a shot that you were looking for the way a lower ranking wolf would submit to their Alpha. I guess I got it right?" My mind flashed back to the pure bliss both myself and my wolf had felt at the moment Lea had been laying below us, ours.

"You got it so fucking right, it isn't even funny." My tone breathy, I turned onto my back pulling Lea on top of me, my cock already growing hard again and pressing against her stomach and thighs.

"What am I going to do with you Jacob Black?" Lea slide down my legs slightly, grasping my member in one of her hands, firmly stroking my hardness. I groaned again, watching my woman through half closed passion filled eyes.

"Anything you fucking want to." My eyes drifted close and for a few long moments I just enjoyed the feel of the woman I loved teasing me with soft, skilled finger tips.

"Jake?" Her tone brought me out of the mild stupor she was placing me in, her movement had slowed and I groaned, wishing for her to finish. I looked up at her face, and blinked, wondering why she suddenly looked so serious. "What does it feel like? Being in here with your wolf?" Lea leaned forward pressing her palm flatly against my lower chest as she asked the question.

"I…" I realized I wasn't certain how to answer her. I watched her gaze flit down, her expression suddenly uncertain.

"That was probably a weird thing for me to ask." Her tone was soft; I felt my lips purse, realizing she thought I didn't want to answer her. I took a deep breath and with ease flipped our positions, kissing Lea's neck and her breast bone and her chin. Spreading her legs with my knees, I thrust gently back inside of her wanting to feel the connection between us being joined brought to me.

"It's not weird at all." Our bodies pressed tightly together I was talked in a low tone near her ear, my movements slow and precise to allow me to continue thinking for a bit longer. "Almost all the time my wolf and I agree, we want the same things. We want to kill leeches; we want to protect our pack and our land. We love you and we want sex with you as much as possible." I purred the last part in her ear and was pleased when it was met by a laugh from my imprint. Her legs lifted to wrap up and around my waist. I drove into her even deeper, hearing her pleasure noises start.

"Sometimes we fight one another. We each want control and it's hard for either of us to bow to the other. Tonight for the first time I truly felt a perfect union with my wolf. It was actually…really…awesome." My words started to linger longer as my pace was picking up, Lea mewled and twitched against me as I felt her body clamp down once again in orgasm. I continued making love to my imprint, my words stopping for a little while and I instead focused on kissing her. With a few deep thrusts I came inside of Lea. Sighing contently, rolling back to her side my heart filled with nothing but the deepest love for this woman currently filled with my essence.

"You know what I do wish?" Lea had scooted her own body up against mine, curling against my frame resting her head against my shoulder.

"What's that?" Lea's voice was still breathy which made me smile; it meant I'd done my job well this evening.

"It would be nice if someone at some point had thought to record like pointers about being a shape shifter. All the tribe stories are about our battle with the "Cold Ones", our responsibilities; and later our treaty with the Cullen's. It would be helpful to know like what other shifters relationships with the wolf inside of them was. I mean we're lucky someone decided to record a vague description of imprinting or think about how much more confused we would be and even that a lot of it is just us struggling around blindly." I could hear the plain aggravation in my tone, Lea had moved around again so that she was half leaning against my chest watching me now as I spoke.

"Well maybe all of you guys should?" My eyes flicked to her face as I saw this was actually a serious suggestion.

"All of us idiots should write records for future werewolves? That seems like kind of a joke to me. Like the blind leading the blind type thing." Lea rolled her eyes at my tone, poking me playfully in the cheek as if to emphasis her point.

"Well it's a problem that's never going to be fixed unless someone does something about it Jacob, and who knows maybe something you _idiots_stumble across could be a big help to a future generation. I mean look at us now? Wouldn't it be nice if someone would have thought to tell someone or write down if they knew of any of shifters like you?" I frowned, I hated when Lea spoke to me like she thought I was ignoring an obvious solution.

"I'll talk to Embry about it I guess." My imprint could see she had annoyed me and her facial expression softened as she pulled away from me, dropping back down to the pillow beside me silently. I sighed this night had been so perfect I didn't want to tarnish it by being an ass. I turned pressing my body firmly against the back of Lea's holding her tightly. "I love you." My tone was honest, even if we didn't agree that didn't affect my feelings for my imprint.

Lea turned to look at me, her gaze captured by mine, she smiled again. "I love you too, you big lug." Her tone was teasing and I gave her a mock look of indignation at what she had just called me. Our mouths met once more this time in a soft, sweet kiss. Lea cuddled against me yet again and I listened to her make a small sigh. She was growing drowsy for a second time and to be completely honest so was I.

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><p>I woke the next morning, stretching on the unfamiliar bed, scenting around the strange room. After all of the sex the previous night I had slept very soundly. I vaguely remembered waking up a little while ago to Lea crawling out of bed. She had told me she was going for a run and I'd still been so exhausted I had just passed back out for a few hours. Looking at the clock I was surprised it was only nine am, yawning I wondered why in the hell Lea would have gotten up to damn early.<p>

I pulled on pajama pants Lea had insisted on me bringing. I hated sleeping in clothes now, but I could see the reasoning behind not walking around her friend's house naked. Creeping out the door and down the hall towards the bathroom, I relieved myself for the morning listening to the sounds from around the house.

I could only hear one single person's footfalls in what I think was the kitchen area. They were too soft and light to be Embry and the stride wasn't Lea's so I had to assume it was Becky. I wondered if Em was still sleeping. I scratched my chest glancing at myself in the mirror. I stopped and chuckled at my usual extreme case of bed head. Lea loved how all my hair seemed to enjoy standing straight up when I woke up in the morning and was always fixing it for me. I smiled now running a little water through my fingers and pressing my unruly mass down.

Inside I felt my wolf press against his boundary again. Each of our hunger pains was feeding into the other. I stopped for a moment and closed my eyes. I could feel a ripple run across my skin. I was surprised my wolf still felt closer to me then he had before. Apparently we had made some kind of lasting connection the night before. I would be interested to see if it would last and what it would mean.

I tromped down the steps, freezing for a moment as Becky's stupid cat hissed at me again and tore past me back up to I assume her room. I guess I couldn't blame him, if something that smelled like a giant wolf had invaded my house too I would be pretty fucking pissed off myself if I was a feline. Shaking my head I decided we weren't going to be here long enough for it to matter and made my way once again towards the kitchen.

Stepping into the room the first thing I noticed was that Becky was indeed the person in there. She was sitting at the kitchen table a glass of milk in front of her, silently reading a book. Looking at the cover I fought back a growl in my throat as it was obviously some stupid fucking romance novel featuring some dumb ass woman falling all over herself for a blood sucking leech. I tired to push my aggravation away, knowing it would be too much fucking trouble to explain it. Instead I focused on finding where Becky had her coffee maker. "Hey." My voice and loud stride broke the silence in the room.

Becky glanced up at me as I crossed having found what I was looking for. I watched her eye brows raise for a moment as she was obviously studying my taunt form and I realized I probably should have put on a shirt. Sometimes without Lea there I tended to neglect some social graces, that weren't as important to shape shifters.

"Good morning." She seemed to have accepted the fact I was standing half naked in her kitchen and smiling pointed to the cupboard to the right of my head. I grinned realizing she could sense my need for coffee at the moment and grabbing a large mug I filled it completely to the top.

"Lea's so damn good to me. I can be a bit of an asshole sometimes in the morning until I get a little caffeine in me. So she usually starts a pot for me to have when she gets up to go for her run, though I'm surprised she went out this morning." I'd moved to the fridge opening the door and looking around inside there wasn't much. My stomach grumbled at me and I frowned. Lea and I would be going shopping later too.

"I couldn't believe she was up so early either after all the exercise she seemed to have gotten last night." Becky was taking a drink of her milk as I turned to look at her eyebrows raised, wondering if she was implying what I thought she was. From the smirk on her face I could easily see that was just what she was saying. I could actually feel myself blush a little wondering just how damn loud Lea and I been while making love in the middle of night like we had.

"Fuck, I'm sorry I guess." I didn't really know what else to say. I barely knew this woman and this was a really odd situation I was suddenly placed in. I relaxed a little when Becky burst out laughing, sitting her drink back on the table and placing a marker inside her book seemingly having decided to talk to me instead.

"Don't worry about it, I was just surprised, but you really weren't that loud. I have to admit I didn't hear anything but Embry was complaining a lot about the two of you earlier this morning." It was just a little good natured teasing and I could take that. Though I did feel a spat of guilt knowing Embry with his supernatural hearing probably got a lot more details about mine and Lea's life then he'd wanted. I shrugged realizing it was over with and I couldn't change it now.

"Em's awake?" I decided to tactfully move on to a new topic of conversation. Becky seemed alright with this.

"Yeah he came stumbling out a while ago and had some coffee himself. I told him I was going to run to a bakery a few blocks over and get some baked goods because it's one of Lea's favorite places. He kindly offered to go for me, and I certainly didn't mind the chance to sit around in my pajamas and relax a little longer." The grin on Becky's face brought one of my own. Pastries were not really the food I was hoping for, I wanted something with a little more protein to it, but beggars can't be choosers I guess.

"That's Embry, he was always far more considerate then I could ever hope to be." I raised my mug in an almost playful toast to my missing friend, before taking another long swallow of the warm drink. Becky's look across from me became thoughtful and I felt my brow rise in interest.

"Well you had to do something right Jake to be able to _tame_ my relationship phobic friend like you did." I could hear the laughter in Becky's voice I felt my brow knit at just what she was implying to me with this statement though.

"Trust me I didn't do anything. Lea does far too much for me as it is." I felt the frown crossing my face, but it was mostly at me for allowing so much of my own inner bullshit to come crashing out in front of one of Lea's oldest friends. She was probably going to think I was a whiny ass. Instead Becky simply studied my face for a few prolonged moments, her gaze unnerving me in how guileless it was. I found I was looking away, becoming acutely fascinated in the tiling on her floor and the fact one of the pieces to the left of me was cracked and should probably be replaced.

"My last boyfriend and I had a really painful break-up." I found my eyes drawn back to the woman across from me, uncertain why she had now changed the subject to private story about her own life. "I found out he was cheating on me, lying to me." Becky frowned now and I could see this very topic was leaving a bad taste in her mouth, having been on the receiving end of relationship shit I couldn't really blame her. "First off Lea was pissed and I'm pretty certain had him pulled over everyday for a month for anything the New York Police Department could possible charge him with." I couldn't help but crack a grin that certainly sounded like my girlfriend.

"Then she and I had a serious conversation one night up on this very roof top. It was about how Lea hated to see me hurt, how this was the very reason she didn't think relationships were worth it. How in the end all the genuine person could hope for, the one that actually walked into love with good intentions was a broken heart at the least. Hopefully they would also not be swindled out of money or other various possessions. That the only thing you gain from opening up your heart was for it to be crushed." Becky was giving me a plain look; I sat my drink down, shaking my head fiercely without even meaning to.

"That's not right." My voice sounded thick, confused. "That doesn't sound anything like Lea. I've never heard her be that bitter before." My browns knit again; I couldn't understand why Becky would make something like this up and tell me about it. Was this some backwards way of trying to prove her point that I didn't understand?

I was surprised when Becky laughed, looking at me with an almost amused expression. "You don't even know just how much you changed my friend do you Jake?" Her question caught me off guard, because I realized I had no way to answer it. I think Becky knew this in my silence and smiling softly she pressed on.

"Lea came alive again when she met you. I mean not that her life was empty or meaningless or anything, but she could at times be hard and jaded. I do believe seeing the worst of people daily, like she often did could make you that way. Before she moved most of Lea's stories involved whatever bust she'd that week, or what pervert she had arrested. Suddenly in Forks I was calling her and instead she was telling me what you had done that week, or something you had said to her. She would tell me a cop story, but then that would slip into an antidote about an action you or one of your friend's had taken. In a way Jake you gave Lea love back. I guess the meaning of all my rambling here, was I wanted to thank you for that." The pleased expression on Becky's face, couldn't overcome how stunned I felt at this moment.

I was well aware that Lea never spoke often about her past, other then times she felt I needed "life lessons" that could be learned from actions she'd taken. It had never dawned on me that the Lea I knew could be so different from who Lea had been. That as much as I'd changed thanks to her influence and gentle guidance that somehow I'd done something similar for her. If Becky wasn't sitting in front of me spelling it out quiet so plainly, I could think it was all a lie.

"You don't have to thank me. I don't know what Lea's told you, but she pulled me out of the biggest shit hole I think a man could be in when she met me. I can't even describe how much I owe her. If I did anything positive for her, it couldn't begin to make up for just how much she saved me." I was never good at hiding my emotions and this moment was no exception. Becky was once again studying me as I laid out my feeling and situation clearly for her.

"I think I more clearly see now why my friend loves you as much as she does Jake. You're as good and honest of a man as she describes you to be." Becky had gone back to sipping her milk in between speaking to me. I lowered my eyes to the table for a moment. Not feeling worthy of this sudden praise, my mind still trying to comprehend everything I had just learned about my girlfriend and myself.

I was saved from further discussion as both Becky and I could hear the front door crashing open. From the foot steps approaching us I didn't even need her to call out to know Lea was home. A shiver ran through my frame, I had to stop myself as I suddenly felt a very strong need to simply embrace my imprint and not let her go for quiet some time.

"Hello!" Lea bustled into the room and I was surprised to see she had bags slung over both of her arms. She smiled brightly at Becky, before dropping both the bags on the counter she crossed to lightly press her lips against my temple. "Good morning Jake." Her voice was soft, she smelled like sweat and adrenaline, it was similar to her scent after we had sex. "Are you hungry? I stopped and picked up some eggs and bacon. Becky and I were never good at keeping too much actual food in this house."

I blinked up at my imprint for a moment. Stunned like I often am at how she wordlessly knows just what I want and somehow makes it happen for me. Without thought I glanced over at Becky and was surprised to see her studying the two of us. I cleared my throat, nuzzling Lea's side with my nose before looking up into her dark eyes. "Now how did you know I was dying for some bacon this morning?" My voice teased her and I allowed a playful smirk to cross my expression.

"Because you want it every morning maybe?" Her laugh was sweet and I tried very hard to picture, my lovely, gentle girlfriend saying the things Becky had said she did. I pulled her to me suddenly; my arm snaked around her waist, my head pressed against her stomach.

"What's wrong with liking bacon?" I pouted as I asked my question, Lea just laughed some more and I felt her fingers drift down and start to fix my hair. It made me smile.

"Does that sound good to you too Becky?" My gaze lifted enough to see the other woman smiling at us cheerfully.

"That sounds perfect and also Embry is picking us up some fresh made donuts and anything else he thinks looks good this morning." Becky stood as she spoke, I could see her drink was now empty and I assume she was going to get herself some more.

"Awesome Becky with that we probably have the makings of the best breakfast ever! Let me just go get cleaned up and I'll start the food." I hated to allow Lea to pull away but I knew she wouldn't feel good until she had completed her morning shower. Usually I would follow her and distract her while she did, but after how loud we were last night I figured maybe I should take it a little easier. Inside I felt my wolf growl and I almost laughed, because I hated losing the chance to pleasure my woman as much as he did.

"And Jake?" Lea had stepped away and I turned my eyes back to her as she spoke my name. "Maybe you should go put a shirt on. I mean I know what a lucky girl I am but maybe we don't need to advertise it to everyone?" I fought back the laugh that wanted to leave my chest.

"Anything you say Baby."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Got the chapter done earlier this week. Starting a fresh exploration of Jake here and his powers that will become a theme that will be studied through this book. I have just always felt there had to be more to the wolf pack and what they could do, hopefully you guys will like the ideas I have :)<em>

_Another fantastic week for favorites, alerts and reviews. When I started out writing these stories I kind of felt like they were so out of left field from what Twilight was actually focused on I wasn't certain if anyone would actually liked them. It has been a huge awesome surprise the amount of really cool people I've met thanks to these stories!_

_Also just to clarify, Becky and Embry have not imprinted yet, at all, maybe sometime, maybe not *laughs* I don't want to give away what's going to happen, but to get around the whole "imprinting on kids" thing, that frankly really didn't sit well with me, the wolves in my AU only imprint the first time they have sex with there significant other. So it remains to be seen what will happen in the upcoming chapters ;) _

_**pfccrazyb1tc**, **1sweetmoment**, **csfla**, **DayAnnKnight**, **Shippolove844**, **Princess Aria Romanov**, **Beaches of La Push** and **MidnightWolf358** thank every single one of you for your reviews! Your kind words keep me working on this each week! _

_Hope everyone enjoys the update!_


	9. Chapter 8

**LEA**

I was slowly picking through my suitcase. Looking at each article of clothing I'd brought with me for the trip. Not so much because I was actually that picky about what I wore, but because the action was so routine in nature it allowed my mind time to drift and think. I was reflecting about this trip, the case, the scope of it and Jake. How incredible he'd been the night before, how even after my run I felt like I could still feel the tingle he'd left coursing through my frame. How no man had ever affected me the way Jacob did. I was still smiling at the memory as I pulled my chosen shirt over my head, just a fitted, red long sleeve tee; when suddenly the lyrics to my ring tone exploded out of my phone.

I half leapt across the bed grabbing for the sound, looking down at the screen and seeing it was Chris. I grinned unsurprised, figuring he was probably going to be a little pissed I hadn't called him by now to check in. I hit the send button to activate the call. "Good morning!" My tone was upbeat.

"The shit has hit the fan." Chris's serious tone met my jovial one and quickly sobered me. My eyes narrowed and I pulled myself into a sitting position, taking a deep breath.

"Another body?" It was like going back in time, like I almost had never left the city, Chris and I communicated and understood one another in the same manner we always had.

"A college student, a _well off_ college student." Noise on the other end of the phone and the muffled sound of Chris yelling at someone else around where he was, my mouth screwed up into an expression of concern.

"That changes everything." My voice was softer then I'd expected to be. I hated the way our culture was formed, but the simply fact was certain murders brought more attention to themselves then others. When it had just been people on the outskirts of society the majority of individuals could just write it off, but now they would take it personally, it had been brought to their own front doors; so to speak.

"The idea of Federal involvement is being thrown around." I could hear the annoyance in Chris's tone, he hated starting something and then having another person come in and take over everything he had accomplished so far.

"Do you think it will happen?" I gripped my phone more tightly, if something like the FBI started investigating the case we were going to have change our strategy and everything was going to be a lot more difficult, because we wouldn't be able to work with the Police then.

"Possibly, but as of right now it sounds like a lot more posturing by the head brass then anything else." Again Chris's muffled voice could be heard barking out something. I shook my head, glad that at least so far we could continue as we'd planned.

"Are you at the crime scene? Should we come down?" Suddenly I felt intensely excited to get out there and see what I could make of this case. There was a pause on Chris's end and I think he was talking to someone again.

"Now's probably not a good time, too many high level assholes and media here. Why don't you meet me down at the station after lunch?" I sighed, feeling pushed aside but realizing that what Chris was suggesting was the most intelligent line of action. I wasn't an NYPD member anymore and I had to remember and respect that fact.

"We'll do that. Thanks for the heads up Chris. I'll flip on the news downstairs and see what they're saying." We exchanged quick goodbyes then. Neither Chris nor I really being the sentimental type and I imagine he was bogged down right now in the insanity of the crime scene. Actually I would have to thank him later for even taking the time to call.

I flew down the stairs and to the living room. All of the bedding Embry had used was still strew around the seating area and I had to push the blankets around to find the remote. Flipping on the TV I changed it to a twenty four hour local news station and was sitting through a story about construction while waiting for them to actually announce something about the murder.

"Lea?" Jake's voice broke through my thoughts and glancing up I realized I'd completely forgotten I'd promised to make him breakfast. He had wandered from the kitchen and was looking at me with both concern and confusion on his face as to why I had settled in front of the TV instead of coming back out to him.

"Sorry, Jake." I flashed the large man an apologetic look. "There's been another murder; I'm hoping we can get some information on it."

"EM!" Jake called for his friend exiting the doorway between the two rooms and crossing to flop down next to me on the couch. He leaned close pressing his hot frame against mine. I leaned into his wolf heat, resting my head against his shoulder. As we both stared at the screen Embry entered and I realized he must have returned while I had been showering. Almost in step with him, Becky also exited the kitchen.

"What the fuck is going on?" Embry could read the concern on both of our faces and glanced to the TV trying to reason out a meaning.

"They found another body; we're waiting for them to talk about it." Jake's large warm hand reached down to grip mine, our fingers interlocking. I smiled softly up at him, not certain if it was more for my benefit or his own.

"Shit." The tone and expression on Embry's face at the news reflected pretty much just what Jake and I were feeling. At his side I could see Becky frowning. Becky had always enjoyed the mystery that crime involved, but not so much the reality of the actual brutality of it; not that I could really fault her for that.

The news switched over to a "breaking story" and I was unsurprised when it was the very crime scene Chris was currently at. In fact I could see his large frame stomping around in the background and from his posture I could tell just how pissed off he was. There really wasn't too much for the media to report yet. Just that their had been a murder and the victim had been a young woman. Her identify being withheld until her family was contacted. My eyes narrowed devouring every tiny detail the camera allowed while panning across the outside of the small garden where the killing had occurred.

The news then broke into a lively debate about the motives of the killer and the methods. I flipped off the screen, knowing most of this was purely drivel concocted by television stations looking for ratings. "Chris said everything is too crazy right now, but that we could stop down after lunch. By then he should have a little time to review everything new with us." I sighed looking up to Jake, realizing he was still firmly holding my hand. To answer my own question, it had been for my benefit.

"Embry and I will try to do whatever you guys need us to. We don't want to cause any problems for your friends or for you." His dark eyes didn't look quiet as haunted as I felt yet. Maybe because I had a clearer picture of how much more serious all of this had become.

"The woman was a college student, the killer is escalating." I felt my eyes drift from Jake to Embry to Becky. I watched Jake's brow crease as he thought over what I had just said.

"Why do you think that?" My mouth drew into a line as I stared at the shiny finish of Becky's coffee table.

"All the other murders so far have been crimes of opportunity. The killer crossed paths with these people while traveling and just randomly killed them. This girl, she doesn't belong where she was found, she was more then likely taken there. He's hunting now." My expression was grim. "I think if nothing else we can rule out the possibility of this just being some random crazy animal attacks. Which really hadn't been very likely in the first place, but now I don't think is possible at all."

"So if it's not an animal what would do something like that?" I was ashamed to admit I had gotten so wrapped up in the crime report I had almost forgotten Becky was there. I checked myself, happy I hadn't said anything stupid in front of her about why we were actually there.

"It could be someone with a trained animal. Like a big pit-bull or something." I flashed a grateful look to Embry for suggesting what was probably the most logical explanation. If you didn't know the bit marks were from jaws the size of a carnivorous horse.

"Gangs do a lot of weird initiation crap now, so anything is possible." I finished the thought, sealing it to make it sound even more plausible. I watched Becky's brows knit and I felt kind of bad for flooding her with all these negative, ugly thoughts.

"Well I don't think there's too much more we can do at the moment, so what about breakfast?" Jake's solid tone broke through the serious, dour mood that had spread around the room. I glanced up at him and saw concern in his expression for both Becky and myself. I reached out to lightly run my finger tips along his jaw line. Loving him for how easily he takes responsibility for and attempts to protect everyone around him.

"I think that sounds like the best idea I've heard all morning." I pushed myself off the couch, patting my boyfriend's chest affectionately, pausing when I noticed awkward smiles being exchanged between my friend and Embry. I halted giving the situation a considering look, only to almost be toppled over as Jake grabbed me around the waist, I let around a surprised noise as he half lifted me off of the floor.

"I want bacon!" The mood between the other man and woman in the room broken as they turned to give me and my boyfriend a curious look, I couldn't help but laugh, Jake was many things and subtle was not one of them. I grabbed Jacob's hand as he placed my feet back on the floor, pulling him towards the kitchen behind me as I looked back over at Becky.

"What do you have planned today?" I asked the other woman, seeing Embry also falling into step with us as we headed back out of the living room.

"Nothing too exciting, I have to call my editor at some point today which will be annoying because I don't have anything new for him." Becky made a face. I gave her a sympathetic look as I gently pushed Jake down into one of the kitchen chairs. He growled playfully at me, smacking my ass as I turned to the stove. I simply shook my head knowing it wasn't even worth commenting on.

"Do you have writers block?" I heard Embry ask Becky the question as I got the eggs and bacon back out of the fridge. Grabbing a frying pan I noticed that plates, drinks and pastries were already on the table from where everyone else must have been enjoying them before I interrupted with the news.

"Not so much that." I listened to Becky reply as I started to make the food. "More like he wants something completely new and I'm not certain just what to do." I was cracking eggs. I wish I had a suggestion, but my mind was still slogged full of the crime scene from a little while ago.

"Well you focus a lot on vampires in most of your stories, why don't you try focusing on another type of being?" I felt the smile cross my face as I could hear the disgust in Embry's voice at the word "vampire".

"I don't get what is so fucking sexy about leeches in the first place." My smile turned into a broad grin at the naked hostility in Jake's tone. I could hear Becky shuffling around a little at the table.

"There is just something so romantic about love forbidden and forever." Her tone had a slightly dreamy quality.

"Yeah with a fucking corpse that doesn't even breath." I could hear the hurt tone in Jake's voice and was about to turn to intervene, but paused when Embry instead spoke up.

"I think you're looking too much at the realism of it Jake, while Becky is looking more at the fantastical quality of it. I mean it is just make believe." Embry's tone had a mild warning and I had the feeling he was telling his friend to lay off because Becky didn't deserve his baggage unloaded on her. I smiled thinking it was sweet of Embry to consider her feelings.

"Okay Jake, if not vampires what would you suggest?" There was a playful challenge in Becky's tone. This was more fun to her and not as serious a subject as it was for the two men she was sitting with. I was plating up the first amount of food, just waiting for what I knew was my boyfriend's answer.

"Werewolves. Hot, loyal and best of all alive and breathing." I turned back towards the table, trying not to laugh at the almost triumphant grin on Jake's face. Embry was laughing and shaking his head at how impossible his Alpha really was. Becky on the other hand looked almost thoughtful.

I sat a dish heaped with food in front of Jake, kissing the side of his head. "Dogs might be man's best friend, but a werewolf is definitely a girl's." I winked at Jake, grabbing Becky's plate next to serve her up some of the food.

"Yeah but you've never really liked vampires Lea." Becky's tone challenged mine, and I considered for a moment while I placed her eggs and bacon on her plate.

"Well you said you wanted something new, I can't be the _only _girl out there that thinks a majority of the way vampire and human relationships are written is just creepy. Plus you have already had a few were-animal characters in your stories and people have always given you positive feedback on them." I crossed the room again, giving Becky back her plate, the expression on my face questioning. I really did think Embry had a point. Becky meanwhile still looked thoughtful and I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't already have an idea buzzing through her head.

Turning I had to fight off a laugh at the **huge** grin beaming across my boyfriend's face. Part of it was probably the fact he was shoving bacon in his mouth but I had the feeling it also had something to do with my dislike of the same beings his people had fought against for a few lifetimes now.

"Lea thoughts are very valid." Becky had turned to listen to Embry again as he started talking. I grabbed his plate next, giving him time to finish his explanation. "You've done a lot of vampires stories, maybe including some more werewolves would really pull in another sector of the supernatural loving audience?" I had grabbed Embry's food and sat it in front of him, studying Becky as she brows knit together in concentration.

"Or maybe were-panthers?" Becky blurted out suddenly a very pleased tone to her voice. I couldn't even fight back my laugh as Jake started choking on his food.

"Who in the fuck has ever heard of were-panthers?" My boyfriend was pouting again; I turned my stomach starting to rumble from all the delicious smells and my own food the last I needed to get.

"But panthers are my favorite animal." Becky's voice was small. Returning to the table I could see Embry was shoving food in his own mouth to block the laughter from seeing the expression on Jake's face.

"I think were-panthers could be a very good idea!" Grabbing a piece of my bacon I shoved it playfully in Jake's mouth. He started at the motion and then turned looking at me first frowning while he chewed but that slowly turned into a grin.

"Werewolves would still be better." Jake's tone was low, and from the mischief in his eyes I could tell he was mostly playing around now. I grabbed another piece of my bacon and this time he opened his mouth for me as I shoved it in. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't believe you figured out how to shut him up." Embry was staring at us in wonder and it just made me laugh harder. Becky blinked and suddenly realizing what I had been doing joined in giggling with me.

"Oh don't worry Embry, I know a few ways to get Jake to be quiet or do what I say." I grinned cutely at the large man next to me; I watched one of Jacob's brows raise looking at me with question.

"Well then it's a mutual thing because I certainly know a couple of very good ways to shut you up woman." Jake's smile made me melt inside no matter how many times I saw it everyday.

"Wow I didn't know you were a miracle worker Jake!" Becky's teasing tone rang out. There was a pregnant pause as everyone else in the room turned and looked at her. Suddenly both Jake and Embry burst out laughing, I scowled, digging into my food pretending my feelings were hurt. This was so natural. I was pleased my two different lives seemed to fit together so well. Glancing up at the clock I knew we would be at the station in just a few hours, I hoped things continued to go as smooth as this.

* * *

><p>I wasn't certain which really felt more like my homecoming. Returning to my old house with Becky for the first time, or walking up the steps to the front door of the precinct where I used to work. Reflecting silently to myself I realized I'd probably spent more time in this building while living in the city, then I had in my actual home. I felt my eyes glance up at Jake and it really hit me again, just how much my life had changed since meeting him and how my priorities hadn't really altered as much as expanded to include other things now.<p>

I pushed open the large, heavy front door to the building, Jake and Embry both in step right behind me. It had seemed quiet out front and thankfully there were no news vans or anything so maybe a little of the hub bud had died down. We'd actually waited until an hour after lunch to start our journey, because we'd been so involved in telling Becky stories. It had been nice and I think she had enjoyed the distraction from the stress of her work, but now we needed to focus. Our true mission, our reason for being here hanging heavy over each of us in our own way.

I strode right up to the Officer at the front desk. He was young and looked bored, I didn't recognize him and that made me wonder if he was new. "Hello!" I smiled brightly knowing how annoying this job could be and not wanting to cause the guy any added grief. He looked up from the computer in front of him, giving me a considering stare.

"How can I help you today?" Professional and polite, I gave him credit. Some guys just didn't take working at the front out here seriously and thought it was more of a punishment then anything else.

"I'm here to see Detective Stabler. He's expecting us." My tone matched his and recognition lit across his face.

"He told me to be expecting the three of you, are you his old partner?" The young cop's eyes glanced back at Jake and Embry and I realized out of the three of us I probably looked least likely to actually be a cop.

"Yeah I am, wanted to see my old haunts." I'd decided it was best to not announce to every person in the universe we were helping out on the murder case. The younger cop nodded seeming to readily except that answer.

"He made certain three visitors passes were set aside for you." I watched him reach over and shuffle around a few papers until he found them. "I know you probably don't need it, but can I help you with directions on where to go?" His smile became sheepish but I understood following protocol.

"No I'm all set, thank you!" I smiled brightly again at the younger man and he returned it, his eyes then falling back to the computer screen in front of him. Starting to walk away, over towards the elevators I handed both Jake and Embry their passes.

"It's so weird being back here." I turned looking down hallways I used to walk everyday; waving at a cop I knew and had hung out with a few times during our precinct gatherings. So many memories and we hadn't even made it into the elevator yet. It made me think of my first bust and my first time in court. My mind was buzzing so full with so many thoughts it didn't quite compute how unusually quiet Jake was being.

The elevator doors dinged and I stepped inside, leaning back against the far wall as Jake and Embry also entered. I could feel the smile plastered on my face, until I noticed Jacob. His expression was blank, which was completely unlike him. Staring down at his feet, I watched Embry glancing over at him with concern. I recalled how hard it had been for me the first few times I'd been thrown into different avenues of Jake's life and how unshakably supportive he had been.

Stepped forward I reached out to grasp his hand that was closer to me. Pressing my face against his bicep, breathing in his scent, which even in the middle of the city was still woodsy and full of wolf. I looked up into his eyes as he turned to me, his expression surprised. "I love you." I kissed his shirt over his arm and I watched the concern on his face melt away into one of his perfect smiles.

"Shouldn't you be staying focused on this case?" His words couldn't fool me, I could see just how much my declaration had not only pleased him, but also relaxed him. I smirked cutely at Jake.

"I'm very good at multitasking." I could hear Embry laugh lightly next to me at my reply and I grinned at him. Jacob's nerves seemed to have settled and he was just leaning lightly against my smaller frame. The elevator doors chimed again and we walked out together, no longer actually holding hands, but our fingers gently touching as we moved.

There was a short hallway that then opened up into a larger squad room with desks lined around. I stopped and smiled at the giant man across from us, facing away so that we only saw his back. Chris was one of the few men I knew that actually almost challenged Jake and his pack in size. Huge and in a nicely pressed suit, Chris was an attractive man that could still turn woman's heads, even being a little older. He was like family to me; I felt an immediate warmth spread through my chest.

"The Calvary has arrived; because there is no way you're going to solve this case on your own!" The laughter in my tone caused the cop across from us to slowly turn, a playful smirk on his masculine face.

"Fuck that you wouldn't have lasted ten seconds in this city if you hadn't been partners with me!" Chris first gave me a considering look and I watched his eyebrow rise. It made me wonder if I looked any different from the last time I'd seen him. Other then the suit, Chris looked pretty much the same, though I could see that Detective life seemed to be agreeing with him more then beat cop.

"So which one is the boyfriend?" Chris has now settled into studying Jake and Embry, I could see mild surprise on Jake's face and I was fairly certain the man across from him was not quite what he had been expecting.

"This is Jacob." I softly touched the arm of the man standing close to me, rubbing it lightly. "And this is his best friend Embry." I gestured towards the other Native man with my head, but Chris seemed fairly focused on Jake now. The cop strode confidently across the room, ending up toe to toe with my boyfriend and for the first time in a long time I think Chris had to actually look up to talk to someone.

"Fuck Lea, did you like walk into the first bar you saw and say, _I want the biggest fucker in the entire State of Washington to come home with me tonight?_" I was about to reply when Jake suddenly burst out laughing, a large grin crossing his face, his appearance so charming as to almost be deadly.

"That's awesome I didn't know Lea told you how we met." There was an awkward pause, Chris turned to look at me, not certain if Jake was serious. Leaning against my boyfriend I could barely contain my laughter.

"I see you two are going to get along very well." At my smile Chris knew Jake was joking and he slapped the younger man affectionately on the shoulder, saying hello to both him and Embry. Once greetings were exchanged the mood swiftly changed and I saw Chris's expression become more business like.

"So did you see all the shit on the news?" We had followed Chris over to his desk, Jake had flopped down into the chair next to it and I had decided to lean on the desk itself, my knees pressed against Jake's legs. Chris was standing with his arms crossed waiting for my answer and Embry was leaning on the other side of Jake, on the desk staring at all the crime scene information Chris has left out for us to see.

"We saw what we could; you guys did a good job of keeping the press out of the thick of it." Chris smiled at my compliment. "But you confirmed it; the bite marks were the same creature as at your other crime scenes?" I felt a friendly pat on my shoulder and smiled at another cop I knew as he walked by and greeted me. Turning my face again waiting for Chris to reply I froze for a moment, smiling softly at Jake. His expression was territorial and I watched his eyes follow the guy that had just acknowledged me as he walked away. I leaned forward to pat his knee affectionately as Chris started talking.

"I'm actually just waiting for the lab tech to confirm it for me, but it looked the same to me. Though more fucking disturbing then before, I was just informed prior to you guys showing up that the victim had sexual intercourse not long before death. The asshole didn't even wear a condom. They are pulling DNA so maybe we'll get lucky." I felt my brows knit from Chris's information. Could the shifter seriously have slept with his victim and then devoured her? Jake and Embry's expressions looked just as troubled as mine.

"If he left it, he probably isn't in the system so he's unconcerned." My eyes had looked down to the photos from the very crime we were discussing, thoughts flitting through my mind.

"It's also possible he might not even realize he could be traced that way." All eyes turned to give Embry a questioning look as he spoke. "This _guy_ is obviously out of touch with something, reality, society, to be able to do these things. Whatever it is, we might be able to use that against him." I digested what Jake's Beta had just shared with me.

"Well he has to have some social skills or else I don't think this girl would have left with him." I pointed at the photo of the victim, my eyes glancing up to Embry and Chris both across from me.

"Maybe he's just really good looking." Jake's tone was flat to my side; I glanced over at him, brows raised. "No seriously." He could tell I thought his suggestion was in humor. "People will do stupid things because they are attracted to someone, or because they want to look good by attracting somebody who everyone around them clearly wants to fuck."

"From what we have gathered from the girl's friend's who were with her until she left with this guy, I don't think Jake, you're that far off from what actually happened." Chris was looking at my boyfriend with approval. I felt a pride in him I couldn't help it. Actually in both Jake and Embry, each of them so willing to help out a bunch of people they didn't even know.

Our discussion was interrupted by the approach of a neatly dressed younger Asian man in a lab coat. He looked vaguely familiar to me and I think I had seen him a court a few times while giving testimony. It was pretty obvious from his appearance that he was the lab tech Chris was waiting for. "Finally Harry! So what's the verdict? I'm assuming same asshole?" Chris obviously knew this guy fairly well. Harry looked at all of us with question before glancing back up at Chris.

"Oh shit sorry. Harry Kim, this is my old partner Lea Bowen. She used to be a cop here too, really good with weird shit like this and she's helping me out a little. This is her boyfriend Jake and their friend Embry. Lea trusts them and I trust Lea with my life, so you can speak freely in front of all of us." I smiled at Chris's compliment to me, looking at Kim with a curious expression.

I could see that Harry must know Chris pretty well, because he relaxed immediately upon the conviction in his tone and smiled a greeting at all of us. "It's the same wolf creature as the rest of the murders, which really isn't that surprising. Disappointingly enough we also didn't get any hits on DNA. So whoever the victim's sex partner was, he didn't have any prior record." Kim looked aggravated.

"Was there anything strange about his DNA?" Embry had been quietly watching everything up until this point.

"Define _strange_?" Harry gave a small smirk to Embry and I watched the Native man's mouth purse in thought.

"I don't know any defects or anything you haven't seen before." There was a short pause as Harry seemed to think about the question.

"None that I noticed, it seemed like pretty normal, human DNA." I watched Embry's brows knit and I paused, realizing I had no clue if the guys had normal genes like the rest of us or not and if we had just eliminated her sex partner as the shifter.

"Could I ask you a couple more questions?" Embry still seemed buried in his own thoughts and Harry tilted his head slightly considering him for a moment.

"Sure what else can I help you with?" Embry walked to a large board across the way that we hadn't gotten to talking about yet. It had pictures from all the previous crime scenes up, Kim walked with him and I could see the two of them pointing at different things and speaking. I figured I could ask Embry about it later.

"So any great insights?" Chris's attention had returned to me. Watching Embry and Harry talking a few steps away I suddenly had a thought. I pushed myself up and off the desk, nearly falling on top of Jacob who caught me with a surprised look on his face.

"Maybe one." I pulled away from the warm grasp of the man holding me and crossed next to Embry and Kim. They paused in their conversation to watch me for a moment. "Do you have a calendar?" Chris shuffled around his desk quickly before tossing me one, Jake had rose giving me a curious look as he moved to see what I was looking at.

"I see that other than our newest victim all the other bodies were further along in decomposition when they were found, that it actually took you a couple different victims to put together that these murders were all being committed by the same creature?" I glanced back at Chris and he nodded.

"Yeah they were in far less populated areas and a few of them hidden better." He supplied my information and waited knowing I needed space to work my idea out.

"Last night was the new moon." I looked at Jake as I spoke and he shrugged at my stare. My brow knit as I matched the last few dates I needed. "According to the times of death estimated by the coroner for each victim the murderer seems to be feeding on the full and new moon of each month; or at the start and end of the lunar cycles. Meaning one this has been going on for almost as long as I've been gone and two we have almost two weeks before he is going to strike again to figure out who in the hell he is."

Chris strode forward grabbing the calendar from me and re-checking my work "How in the fuck didn't I notice this before?" I could hear the frustration in his voice.

"Most of the other bodies where so far from when they were murdered you wouldn't have been thinking about what the moon happened to be doing that night." I gave Chris a pat on the arm, trying to convince him not to be too hard on himself. Jake and Embry were exchanging looks that I could clearly see meant they were confused.

As far as I knew the lunar cycle meant almost nothing to Jake and his pack, past any effects the moon had on every other person everyday. If this was indeed a shifter why would he be affected by it when they weren't?

"Look Lea I hate to cut this short, but I want to get on the computer now and look through all the crimes from the last year or so on full and new moons and see if maybe I can find anything else to connect all of this." I could see a new clue had lit a fire of possibility inside of Chris and I smiled happy to have helped him in some small way.

"We should probably get going anyway, we have already been here an hour and I wouldn't want to over stay my welcome. Is Captain Jones around?" I was still hoping to pop in and say hello, but felt a twinge of regret when Chris shook his head.

"Out getting ready for the press conference because of all this shit, but listen. I almost forgot, Deanna wanted to have a bunch of people over in honor of you being back in the city. The Captain's going to be there, Harry, and a bunch of the other shit heads we know. Can you guys make it to my place tomorrow night? You should bring Becky too, we haven't seen her since you took off on us, but Deanna loved every single signed copy of her books that your friend sends my wife." Chris rolled his eyes and it made me laugh.

I glanced at both Jake and Embry and they nodded agreement to go to me. Embry and Harry seemed to exchange a look, but I figured I was probably just imagining things. "No we would love to go." Chris was beaming.

"Great, now I hate to rush you but do you need me to see you out?" The large man was now on a mission and crossing back over to his computer to get working. I laughed.

"No we can find our way out of here on our own." Chris nodded and all of us exchanged somewhat hurried farewells. Embry, Jake and I walked out, turning in our visitors passes. The air outside felt a bit cooler now then when we had entered and I smiled as Jake automatically stepped closer to me his arm snaking around me pulling me close to his wolf heat. I sighed.

"So the DNA questions Embry. Are you guys different then the rest of us, would it have shown up? Are we able to completely eliminate a shifter?" Even over the crowd around us I could hear Embry sigh loudly.

"Whatever helps us turn…?" I saw him pause his eyes darting around to all the people surrounding us and causing him to choose his words more carefully. "It's more mystical then biological." We were scared for a long time to allow a normal doctor to see any of us, but Alex's mother's a nurse. She's vaguely related to Quil and I'm certain she is who Alex got the wolf from. Well I'm confident you both remember a couple of months ago when he turned in front of her by mistake?"

"How could I fucking forget." I could hear the low growl in Jake's voice and I remember how stressful of a time that had been for him. It was always difficult letting new people into the secret.

"Well once she knew and had accepted what was happening, I asked her to draw blood from him and take it to the hospital were she worked to look at. She had to dance around a little red tape, but she did just that and answered for me the question of if we were that different from a regular person genetically and the answer was no." I looked at Embry with great respect. No one but him would think of all of these details and little things that the pack might need to know.

"You didn't tell me about any of this Em." Jake's tone was flat and annoyed. I patted his stomach, hoping he would just let Embry's curiosity slide a little here, because it had been so helpful to us.

"I know Jake and you can be furious with me later if you want, but I just needed to know if we were that different. It was important to me." Embry looked away from us and I couldn't help but wonder what thoughts were inside his head at that moment, from the look on Jake's face I could see he was thinking the same thing.

"What's done is done now, but you know I love when you don't tell me things." Jake's tone was cross and I knew enough not to interfere. This was a pack dynamics thing and it wasn't my place to involve myself.

"The important thing at the moment is that we still very much know this could be another shape shifter, but that for some reason he is following moon patterns which have never affected us." Embry was trying to slide the topic away from his actions. I decided to help him.

"We also know that whoever he is, he's not a known criminal and he slept with the last victim before he ate her." I felt my stomach twist once again at the thought. Jake's mouth drew to a line as I could see he was just as bothered by this information.

"Hopefully maybe Chris will have a few more clues when we see him tomorrow night, because currently right now we're still in a city of millions, with very few ideas how to find the individual doing all of this." Jake's tone sounded almost tired. I nuzzled the side of his chest; I hated to see him discouraged.

"Right now why don't we go grab Becky and start figuring out what we want to do for dinner, because I think we have accomplished all we can at this moment." I watched the much larger man holding me look down, smiling gently at me as he did.

"That's actually the best suggestion I've heard in the last few hours." Turning to walk down into the subway the three of us allowed our conversation to turn to lighter topics.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Got moved to overnights at my job and I'm actually able to write while I'm working so I've been producing chapters a little bit quicker. Let's hope this pace continues! Expanding a bit more on the Shifter mystery in this chapter and introducing Chris, Lea's old partner. He is blatantly based off of another favorite fictional character of mine so kudos to anyone who guesses who it is and great taste in TV shows ;)<em>

_ I got some absolutely beautiful reviews for the last few chapters, it makes me so happy that people really get and appreciate what I'm trying to do. I really am trying to develop an entire back story for the shape shifters that unfortunately I can tell you won't be completely explained until the next book. **DragonBby **wrote me about how they believe the werewolves were really handed the short end of the stick in the saga and how they are just as special as the vampire characters and I couldn't agree more. In fact my personal belief is that the wolves are actually the more powerful beings within the universe._

_But I have to stop myself from rambling off too much because I'm going to spoil everything I have planned and we have so much drama left between our four main characters that we haven't even really touched on yet ;)_

_A huge thank you to everyone that sent me a review for chapter 7:** MidnightDreamer73**, **DayAnnKnight**, **sthrnpanther06**, **Beaches of La Push**, **Princess Aria Romanov**, **DragonBby** and **csfla**. Everyone's love for my derpy little story makes me keep trying harder and harder to make it better and more interesting for all of you! Thank you all!_


	10. Chapter 9

**EMBRY**

I sat on the couch in Becky's living room staring at the black text inside the novel in my hands, but not actually comprehending it. I was currently alone in the house and the silence was actually making it more difficult to focus than easier. Becky had left to run errands a few hours before and Jake and Lea had just taken off about fifteen minutes ago. Jake had been hungry, which was a seemly permanent state my Alpha was in and there hadn't been any food in the house. Jake had pointed this out to Lea and she in turn had gathered together her things and left with him.

They had both invited me a long for the trip, but for some reason today I just felt lazy. Maybe I was too focused on the party we were attending that evening and a further chance to get information from the lab tech I'd met at Lea's old precinct the day before. I had tried very hard to seem nonchalant about the entire thing, but really I'd seen a possibility I'd been quietly preparing for, since I'd become Beta of my pack; maybe even longer.

I hated the open ended quality of my life, so many unanswered questions, so much pain and wondering. I wanted to ask my Mom about my Father, I really did. It would be the easiest solution to everything, but I also knew it would break her heart. Since I was small I had without any words from her, known the shame she dealt with because of our situation. She bore it silently and I just couldn't bring myself to break that small, narrow wall she had built up.

That left me with only my wits, and figuring out someway to discover my answers on my own. Learning the truth about our DNA had been my first step. I couldn't reasonable test my own paternity in any way if it would expose the secret of our pack. Finding out our transformation was magical and not biological in one way opened a whole second set of questions for me, but the origin of what I was bothered me far less these days then how I personally had came to be.

Jake had been pissed to find out I had been hiding something from him and really I couldn't blame him. The structure of our pack was built on the foundation of the trust between Jake, Leah and I. He'd asked me about my curiosity again last night. I'd stepped up to the roof for some air, the girls had been laughing and watching a movie. Jake had followed me, which didn't surprise me and confronted me about the fact I'd betrayed his faith. I'd apologized and assured him that my motives had been purely my own desire for knowledge so I hadn't though it would be that important to him.

I was actually glad currently we were holding off from shifting, because I was pretty certain my Alpha would have been able to tell I was still holding back from him had we been in our wolf forms, as it was I could feel the displeasure from my own wolf inside me at the idea of betraying our Alpha's trust. Really I hated having to hide something from Jake. He was my oldest and closest friend. The one I always turned to when I didn't know what to do.

Jake was also one of the reasons I was doing everything I was currently working towards. I needed to know if there was any possibility that Jake could be my brother, if I shared the ability to shape shift with him because we had the same Dad. Maybe that's why my Mom has always encouraged me to spend time with Jake when we were small and maybe that's why I'd so easily stepped into the role of Beta. Maybe I carried a stronger wolf inside of me, just like Jake seemed to.

I couldn't bring myself to tell Jake all of this though. If I was wrong and I accused Billy of cheating on Jake's Mom with my Mother, Jake would be devastated. Ever since her death Jake's Mom had always been a touchy subject for him, he placed her up a pedestal and really considering how his life fell apart so thoroughly for so long after her death I really couldn't blame him. I had no reason to destroy the new love and respect Jake and Billy shared if all my questions turned out to mean nothing. I wanted to do this on my own and maybe if I had proof, then I would say something to Jake; or maybe just knowing would be enough. I would cross that bridge if and when I came to it.

That still left me needing to figure out what I was going to say to Harry Kim tonight. How to explain something so personal to someone I didn't really know, but I felt like this was an opportunity that had literally fallen into my lap and I would be an idiot not to take it. I sighed, feeling my wolf stir inside, wishing I could somehow make him understand why I needed to do this; or that I could at least shift and be able to focus on nothing but the feel of being free and wild. Neither seemed possible to me at the moment, though Jake had mentioned he had developed a better connection to his wolf lately. That was an entirely different subject I was also interested in, but currently I just had too many things to think about.

I heard the knob turning on the front door of the house; it was too soon for Lea and Jake to be back from the store so it had to be Becky. I felt a little odd sprawled across her living room couch like I was, but at the same time Becky had been so welcoming to both Jake and me since our arrival that I didn't' think she would mind me being here alone. I listened as she entered her home and closing the door behind her walked towards where I was sitting.

"Hello?" I heard the tentative question in Becky's voice. She stepped into my view in the doorway to the room still looking around.

"Jake and Lea went to the store." I suddenly felt self conscious. Here I was sitting on this woman's couch in sweat pants and a tee shirt, reading a book I had borrowed from the vast library I had found in her computer room down the hall. It made me feel like maybe I was over stretching my welcome. Becky's face broke into a large, pleasant smile and it set my mind more at ease.

"Yeah, I'm not very good at getting groceries." I felt my own soft smile as the woman across from me let out a nervous giggle. "Most of the time, since it's just me I just grab take out from somewhere." Becky had flopped down in one of the arm chairs across the room from the couch. Dropping the bags she was carrying onto the floor next to her, letting out a deep breath.

"Are you lonely since Lea left?" It seemed an obvious question for me to ask, from what Becky had just stated. I thought about how strange it would be for me if Jake just left one day.

"I try to keep busy, but yeah a lot of the time I really wished I'd moved with her when she asked me too." I found it easy to talk to Becky and I think she felt the same around me. She much like Lea seemed very non-judgmental, only Becky also had this easy air about her, where she would simple listen and only offer advice if you seemed to want it. Lea was a bit more proactive then that. Which actually suited Jake really well, but sometimes I just needed someone to listen to me vent.

"Makes you wonder if things would have even turned out the way they had, if you would have moved with her?" I enjoyed playing devil's advocate. Would Lea had been so eager to open up her life to a whole slew of people she didn't know if she would have had someone so close to her there already? I couldn't help but wonder.

"I think so. Lea would move the Earth for Jake if he needed her to." Becky's expression was questioning, like she was trying to reason why I would even purpose such a thing. I felt myself smirk. I enjoyed exploring every scenario.

"Well that feeling is mutual between them, but it still could have made everything much more interesting I think had you come along with her." I felt myself cough lightly as Becky's scent changed. I knew from the moment we had all met in the airport that she was attracted to me. I was flattered; she was a beautiful woman, taller then Lea, with waist length straight brown hair and a slender build. I knew I could be charming, but mostly I was terrible at moments like this. I tended to over think every one of my actions and fumble around like an idiot.

Right now between the shifter and my own personal project I had so much on my plate I was trying not to allow myself to become distracted. Still her desire sometimes hung too clearly in the air. If I didn't notice it my wolf did and his need to dominate this attractive female that was enticing him was almost maddening at times; and if Becky put anything about herself personally in her books I knew she had probably a more vivacious appetite then maybe me and it had been so long since I had cared enough about someone to go that step with them.

I blinked, realizing Becky was looking at me with question. I'd become so consumed with my own thoughts that I hadn't heard her reply to my last statement. I sighed inwardly at my brain and the fact it never seemed to stop computing things. I cleared my throat giving her a sheepish smile and watched her cock her head curious.

"I thought I lost you there for a second, what were you thinking about? You had the oddest expression on your face." I flushed a little at her question. Jake who was bold and charming would have said just what he had been thinking about and then probably would have expected it to then happen. I on the other hand would rather shrug it off and hope I don't look like a complete asshole in front of someone I was growing to admire.

"Sorry started thinking about home. I have a lot on my mind right now I guess." I watched her expression grow tender at my confession, which was completely true except that wasn't what I had been thinking about at that precise moment.

"Did you just kind of get dragged along on this adventure?" Becky had settled back into her seat, ready it seemed to have a serious conversation with me. I weighed quickly just what to tell her and placing down the book that had been uselessly held in my hand answered.

"No I was happy to come here. Half because I love a good problem to solve and half because it's nice to get away from La Push for a while actually." I was surprised how not awkward it was to talk to Becky about some of my more personal issues.

"I don't always get along with my family either. I know they mean well, but they don't always approve of my choices. They think its good I'm a writer but they don't approve of what I write." She rolled her eyes and I felt a kindred-ship to her, nodding.

"I love my Mom dearly, but sometimes, no honestly a lot of the time she tends to forget I am a grown man and that I need space." I could feel the scowl on my face; hear the light growl that left my chest. Becky just looked at me with consideration.

"Maybe you need to take that first step to show her that you're your own man now?" Becky tone wasn't judgmental or chiding. She was simply stating a fact for me to consider and I had to admit as much as I didn't want to there was merit in her words. My secret life didn't allow my Mom to really know what I did, and as far as she could see I was basically wasting my time on seemly trivial pursuits.

"I wish I knew how to do that." My eyes drifted around the room, not wishing to feel so suddenly weak. "I wish I knew how to get past my own personal bullshit and just get out there and make myself happy. However I can, but I feel stuck." I'd never admitted these feelings to anyone. My eyes glanced back over at the woman across from me and the warmth in her expression put my mind as ease for literally spewing out all my problems in front of her.

"I had to write a lot of books before a publishing agency finally picked up my first Mackenzie King story. What's important Embry is that you just keep working towards your goal, whatever it is. Sometimes everything can seem really overwhelming, but hopefully it will just make the end result more worth it." Becky's expression was earnest. I sat for a moment just thinking about her words. That really was my ultimate problem, past discovering my own past I didn't have any goals. Maybe I really wasn't as grown up as I thought I was. Maybe it was time for me to really start seeing the bigger picture of my life?

I sighed, knowing that it wouldn't be possible for me until I did know about my past. That it would continue to be this black cloud hanging over my life until I managed to dash it away. "Do you want to go sit on the roof with me?" The fresh air would help clear my head and Becky's companionship would stop me from brooding. The woman across from me smiled hugely at the suggestion and I found myself returning it.

"Let me throw this stuff into my computer room and I'll meet you up there!" Becky grabbed the bags she had carried in with her as she explained what she needed to do.

"I'll get us a couple of sodas to drink." I watched Becky walk away, rising myself to go to the kitchen. I grabbed the drinks, and realized I was still smiling. It almost made me want to laugh. I'd gotten so serious over the last few months, so caught up in my new position in the pack and my own inner turmoil. Maybe part of what I really needed was to actually treat this trip like a vacation and to stop being so gloomy almost all the time while I was here.

I could hear Becky moving back down the hall towards the doorway to the roof and I swung the fridge shut as I walked to join her. She grinned as I approached, I watched her eyes drift over my frame and I fought off a cough at the sudden assault of her arousal. I could feel my wolf's interest stir and I forced a smile across my face as I could feel myself start to get hard.

I allowed Becky to lead the way up; I couldn't help but devour the gentle sway of her hips as she climbed, maybe once I settled things at this party tonight I could allow myself to focus more intently on the growing feelings between us. I honestly couldn't think of a better way I would like to relax.

* * *

><p>We'd all decided to just walk to Chris's house. Apparently he only lived a little over a mile away from Becky and the evening's weather was pleasant enough that it made the chance to see more of the city enticing. Jake and Lea walked ahead, hand in hand, talking in low tones to each other. I couldn't help but be amused when they'd returned from their shopping trip earlier with a ridiculous amount of food. Becky had been certain she had never had this much to eat in her house at one time. I informed her it was the penalty of living with so many large, hungry men around. Gentle teasing between the two of us was becoming more natural. I noticed Lea watching us with amused curiosity and I had the feeling she would be interrogating Becky soon, because Lea never really managed to just ask a simple question.<p>

Becky was walking with me, but her arms were crossed in front of her and mine were at my side. We weren't really at the point yet were we were comfortable affectionately touching one another, though Becky's scent change was becoming sharper when we were close now. She was telling me about some of her favorite places to visit in the city, and suggested we all needed to go out exploring one day. I really hoped that Harry Kim could help me this evening, because I found the longer I spent talking to Becky the more I wanted to get to know her.

There were more people at Chris's then I'd actually expected. Introductions took quite sometime and I was lucky if I would remember half of the names Lea had just told me as she went around the room. I shook my head as Jake possessively hung around his girlfriend as various men she had worked with came up to talk to her. Becky had been snatched up by Chris's wife Deanna who was asking her a million questions about her last book. Becky seemed to thoroughly be enjoying talking about her characters, so I took the chance to wander off and look for Kim.

He had been present during introductions, but had broken off and went into the kitchen as everyone had started to mingle. Using my heightened senses I scented the area around me. I could clearly recall the aftershave Harry had been wearing the day before and tried to pick it out now. I could weakly follow it to the deck out back. Stepping out through the door I saw Kim was standing and talking to a young woman who had been introduced as another police officer Lea knew. Harry saw me and for the first time I felt awkward. I'd expressed interest in asking him more questions when I'd seen him the day before, but now I was uncertain how to actually approach him.

Thankfully Kim almost seemed to be able to read this. I watched as he excused himself from the woman he was speaking to and crossed to me, hand extended in greeting. "It was Embry right?" I felt a little bubble of nervous energy grow inside my chest. The seriousness of what I was about to ask this man for looming over me.

"Yeah." I suddenly felt a little tongue tied. I swallowed hard, my mouth feeling dry.

"So what did you want to talk to me about? It seemed like maybe it was something other then the case?" Kim looked at me curiously, I sighed trying to decide just what I wanted to say.

"I was hoping you could help me with something." I looked around us trying to judge if any of the other people on the porch were within earshot. Harry looked at me a little skeptically.

"Is this _something _legal?" He didn't know me so I really couldn't blame Kim for not blindly trusting me. I moved us closer to the one side of the porch were it seemed quieter. Thankfully Jake, Lea and Becky still seemed tied up as none of them had come looking for me outside yet. I felt fairly safe to continue my conversation.

"I think it is. I mean I don't know why it wouldn't be." I was shuffling between my feet, feeling young and uncertain and maybe even a little scared. Harry studied me for a long moment before I watched his features soften.

"Look whatever you say here, it will stay between you and me. I took this job so that I could help people, it's something I take really seriously and if I can I would be happy to help you." Part of me privately wondered if this guy was really that altruistic or if he was just trying to appear that way. My thoughts then turned to Lea and the fact she actually was and Harry seemed to be inline with the people she associated with so maybe he was this giving.

"I'm trying to figure out who my real father is." Somehow the confession seemed much easier once I actually got it past my lips. "I've never known who he was, other then I think it was someone in my village. I would ask my Mom but it's a really touchy subject for her and it means a lot to me to know." A weight lifted off my shoulders, regardless of what Harry told me now I had said my piece, and I felt braver for having been able to at least make this effort.

"How do you want to try to find out?" Kim was looking at my curiously and I was happy to see he hadn't just written me off at my question.

"I think it might be Jake's dad." Now there was hesitation in my tone. I wasn't certain how Harry would feel about me wanting to test something from my friend.

"Your friend you're here with?" His brows rose in question, I nodded my head silently as he let out one long breath." Wow that has to be very convoluted and complicated for you." I watched his mouth screw up in though as he leaned against the porch railing for a moment. "Does Jake know you want to test him for this?" It was the question I was dreading.

"No. He's had kind of a rocky relationship with his father until recently. I hate to bring the subject up when I have no proof other then a gut feeling and cause more strife between his family and any between us." I could feel heat creeping into my face as guilt washed through me. I hated lying to one of the most important people in my life, but my need for the truth outweighed all my other negative thoughts.

"I know labs were you can get paternity tests done for a few hundred bucks." Kim looked thoughtful, "but are you sure you want to chance your friendship, if Jake finds out what you're doing?" Harry was studying me. I think he could read how much this really meant to me and that's why he was willing to go an extra step to give me the information I needed. The money would be tight, I could crash into some I had squirreled away in the bank for an emergency, but it was worth it for answers.

"I'm hoping he won't find out. Honestly I'm not even certain I want to tell him if the results come back saying we're brothers. I just really want to know for myself." I knew just not having this gigantic mystery hanging over my head would be enough, thought privately I also wondered if it would be possible to keep from Jake. I could feel the wolf inside of me even as he was being fairly dormant. Somehow I don't think he would allow me to keep such a serious secret from my Alpha forever.

"Do you have a cell phone?" Kim looked like he was considering everything I'd said to him. I nodded pulling my phone out of the pocket of my jeans. "Let's exchange numbers. I'll contact a friend I have at one of the labs and see when she can best get your test in. Then we can meet up and you can give me everything and I'll drop it off for you. Now you realize you will need something of Jake's, some hair, his toothbrush, in order for us to be able to complete the test? Are you certain it wouldn't be easier to just tell him what you want to do?" I could feel that Harry thought it was better if I did, but it just really felt wrong to me to upset Jake without any real proof.

"I'll get you something to test, thank you." My avoidance told him the answer to his second question. He nodded in silent understanding, I guess feeling it wasn't his place to push me with questions anymore. We exchanged numbers and I felt that then it might be smart of me to excuse myself. I could explain away us talking about the case if any of my friends had seen us, but I felt better having my business conducted and no one being able to trace my activities back to me.

I walked back into the house. The first person I saw was Lea, she was standing engaged in an animated looking conversation with the man I remember being introduced to as her previous Captain. I was surprised Jake wasn't with her, glancing around the room I was even more curious when he wasn't within eyesight of her. I would never describe Jake or Lea as co-dependant. They were both strong, functioning individuals; but they both I'd noticed felt more comfortable and relaxed when they were near one another and most of all when touching. With Jake at least I knew it was the canine part of him, because I could get to be the same. We like regular wolves felt most secure when we had our pack mates near us.

Lea smiled at me and I returned the gesture, still studying the room. I finally noticed Becky; she had a small gaggle of woman surrounding her. I took a few steps closer and fought the grin that tried to cross my face as I realized they were all drilling Becky on what her next book was going to be about. I figured I should probably go rescue her as I could scent her unease at the intensity of her fans inquires. I walked closer noticing her drink was almost empty in her hand, I stepped up next to her seeing my in.

"I'm going to grab some more refreshments, if I could break you away from your conversation would you like to join me?" The women around me glared daggers at me. I felt my wolf stir inside at the open scent of their hostility. Becky on the other hand flashed me a grateful smile as she politely excused herself from the small crowd.

"Wow that was more intense then most of the book signing I do." She let out a short laugh, an expression of comical disbelief written across her face.

"Women are scary." I smirked at her as I made the comment. She paused walking to look up at me for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Some of us really are I guess." Her bright mood I found influenced my own, and the apprehension I had been feeling since entering the house finally started to dissipate. I grabbed myself a beer and taking Becky glass refilled it with some soda after we approached the drink table. As Becky and I lapsed back into a comfortable conversation I finally scented Jake. I turned to see him leaving the back area of the house were I knew the bath room was. It finally made sense to me why he had left his girlfriend like he had then.

As he attempted to cross the space in front of him the living room and dining area seeming to fill up with even more people as the evening drifted on, I watched Jake getting stopped by a younger woman. She was Chris's oldest daughter, but for the life of me I couldn't recall her name even though Lea had just told me it about an hour before. I didn't think much of it at first. Becky had started telling me an amusing story of an interesting individual she had seen on the subway a couple of days ago. I was enjoying her smile and the gentle laughter of her tone when glancing around her expression changed.

I followed her line of eyesight to see Jake was still talking to Chris's daughter. I could easily tell Jake was standing stiffly and politely. Trying to be gracious to the child of his host, but the girl was leaning forward, skillfully pressing her body against his. Trying to entice him, which I could easily see was making him uncomfortable. I was starting to wonder if I would have to go over and save Jake when Becky suddenly made a soft concerned noise.

"Lea!" Becky broke away from me without a word. I glanced one last time at Jake, watching his mouth drawn down into a thin impatient line as I took off after Becky. She had gotten about halfway across the room before she had stopped. Her hands hung at her sides as her head dropped a little, lightly shaking. "That's not good." I felt my brow rise looking around at what she meant.

"What happened?" I couldn't see what had Becky concern. The smaller woman sighed deeply, turning her attention once again to me.

"Lea took off." Her tone was plain and much more matter of fact then her comment made me feel.

"What do you mean _took off_?" My eyes shifted swiftly around the room, realizing I didn't see the other woman anywhere now.

"She looked over to see Melissa with her boobs practically shoved into her boyfriend's face and Jake just standing there. I can't honestly tell you what emotion hit her, but it must have been bad, because she left." Becky had pulled out her phone and I could see she was already trying to text her friend. I felt a slight panic hit me at the fact my best friend's girl friend had just taken off on him and he didn't seem to know yet.

"Why would she do that? I mean even I can tell Jake isn't flirting with that other woman?" I followed Becky as stashing her phone back into her pocket, she traveled back across the room to where Jake was still standing, though he had slowly started to attempt to back his way out of the current trap he was in.

"Melissa get lost." Becky shoved her frame in-between my friend and the young woman who wouldn't seem to leave him alone. Melissa's expression grew hostile and I think she would have said something nasty except Jake took the sudden interruption as a chance to escape. He was already swiftly striding back towards where Lea had been talking to her Captain just a short time before' when he paused. I could see him scenting the air, his body growing ridged at the fact he couldn't smell the woman he loved anymore.

Becky glared at Melissa one last time, before she turned to me. I could see she wanted me to initiate the conversation with my friend. I knew this was not going to make him happy. The two of us crossed to were he was standing looking around with a lost expression on his face. "Where's Lea?" I saw hope fill his eyes at our approach that we would be able to tell him.

I cleared my throat, trying to word just what I wanted to say. "She, um, left Jake." I awkwardly stumbled over the confession to my friend. Jake's eyes widen and felt his sharp smell of fear.

"What do you mean _she left_?" A shiver ran over Jake's frame and I got blasted by the scent of wolf. My eyes narrowed a little. It didn't seem like Jake was about to transform, but I could plainly tell the canine inside of him was pushing at its barriers.

"You know her better then anyone Jake. You have to know at this point when Lea gets overwhelmed with something she tends to take off until she can get her emotions worked out for herself. She hates being out of control of how she is acting." Becky was looking down at her phone again, still frowning and I realized she wasn't actually texting but watching something on the screen.

Jake's eyes downcast and I got the distinct impression that he knew just what Becky was talking about. "But I wasn't doing anything, I swear! I was just trying to be polite; I didn't want to look like an asshole in front of all of Lea's friends." I felt for my Alpha. He really had been thrown into a bad spot.

"How would you feel if you looked up suddenly to see some attractive guy with his body crushed against Lea and she was just standing and talking to him?" There was an edge to Becky's voice and I think she was judging Jake's reactions to everything. I fought the need to justify what Jake had done, because I knew defending him right now was not going to solve the current issue.

"I would probably beat the living shit out of him." Shame flashed across Jake's expression as he answered honestly. "Truthfully Becky it didn't even cross my mind what we probably looked like because I seriously was not thinking about Chris's daughter that way." Becky suddenly patted Jake's shoulder and it made me realize she wasn't angry and in fact was just trying to make him see the entire scope of the situation.

"Come on." Becky tugged on both our arms pulling us towards the front door. We both followed her, all of us stepping outside and tromping down the front stoop to the sideway below. Becky took a deep breath of fresh air. "That's better I didn't feel comfortable having this conversation in front of everyone." I could see her relax a little, unlike Jake who was getting more tightly wound by the moment.

"So now you have to decide Jake, we can all go back to the house and wait until Lea returns; or you can go after her. I can't guarantee that is what she'll want you to do though, because Lea usually leaves like this because she wants some time alone to sort out her thoughts." Becky was giving my friend a considering look and I got the impression she was silently waiting herself to see what he choose.

"I can't just sit and fucking wait, even if she's angry with me for it I need to find Lea and explain to her so she isn't so pissed at me." Jake started to pace back and forth. He was definitely the most powerful member of our pack, but I even questioned Jake's ability to track his woman without being able to transform.

"I was hoping you would say that!" Both myself and Jake were surprised turning to look at the expression of approval that crossed her face at my friend's answer. "What Lea needs the most is some common sense knocked into her hard head. She still doubts her ability to keep you Jake, she thinks, mostly because of her age I figure that you will eventually move on to the proverbial _greener pastures_. I love Lea but she can be a complete idiot." Becky shook her head. I watched Jake absorb everything Becky had just said to him.

"I'm just not certain how I'll find her." Becky words seemed to have just made Jake more resolute, I think the realization he wasn't entirely at fault for his predicament at the moment was a relief to him.

"Take my phone." I felt my brow knit as Becky offered her device to Jake; he stared down at it blankly like he wasn't completely certain what it would do. Looking at the screen it suddenly finally clicked with me what Becky had been doing all along.

"You two have GPS tracking on one another don't you?" I realized what the small screen Becky had been watching was.

"Yes, Lea insisted on it in case either of us was ever in trouble. Now you can use it to help you figure out where she has gone." Becky was smiling at Jake and blinking he took the phone studying it for a moment until he started to get his bearings about where he needed to go. Jake had also always been an excellent map reader.

"Thank you." Jake looked at the woman at my side with a grateful expression. "I'm going to go fix everything." I watched the determined look slip into his eyes.

"You do that!" I realized Becky was no longer concerned, she had seemed more apprehensive about Jake's reaction and what he was going to do about this situation then what was actually happening. It appears in her eyes he had made the right choice and now she felt not only that everything was going to work out alright, but I think Jake had met some kind of approval from her. "You should also give her a spanking for being so pig headed!"

I watched Jake freeze to just stare blankly at Becky for a moment like he couldn't quiet believe what she had just said to him. Becky was grinning fiercely and I realized she was teasing Jake, trying to set his mind at a bit more ease. Slowly the smallest smile spread across his face.

"Maybe I'll do that." Jake took a few steps, before turning back to us again. "Will you tell everyone we're sorry and that Lea and I had to take off?" Question in Jake's face, Becky nodded as she replied.

"I was already planning on it. See you both when you get home." The assurance in Becky's voice I could see made Jake feel more confidant. He nodded firmly, before turning on his heel; Becky's phone raised staring at the small map on the screen as he strode off.

"Do you really think everything will work out okay?" I looked down at Becky, posing the question as Jake finally got out of earshot of us.

"I think Jake is just what Lea needs. She has spent far too much of her life fighting to be alone, now she can fight to stay with him." I tried to feel the self-assurance Becky seemed to have, it was odd realizing there was so much of Lea I still didn't know, even with as close to all of us as she had grown. I looked down at Becky wondering if she had as many varied layers I would have to peel away and realizing she had to, because we all did. Some of us just hid them better.

"Come on let's go inside and try to figure out what to tell Chris, and then we can head back to my place." Becky held out her hand to me, I stared at it for a moment before I took it within my own. Maybe Lea wasn't the only person who needed to reassess which battles she was choosing to war for herself presently. Becky and I walked back towards the front door of the house.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Just in time for Christmas a new chapter! :D I also want to try to get the next chapter up on some timely kind of fashion even with the Holiday this weekend. We finally really get a clue of what Embry is up to and what personal demons are haunting him here. It always bothered me that Meyers had this sort of tease with Embry's back story about his paternity but then never had him face it in any way. I think something like that would really shape a person and to me that always seemed like it would be Embry's "big issue" kind of like I always felt like after everything with his Mom and Bella, Jake would have an abandonment complex.<em>

_Also Chris is based on Elliot Stabler from Law and Order: SVU so anyone that guessed that congrats ;) I just adore that show so much and the character and he just kind of wormed his way into my fan fiction though I'm really enjoying writing interactions between him and Jake. _

_**DayAnnKnight**, **Fanatic22**, **DragonBby** and **Princess Aria Romanov** thank you for the GREAT reviews! Also a lot of favorites and story alerts this week so welcome to all my new readers!_

_I hope everyone has a great Holidays and a very Happy New Year!_


	11. Chapter 10

**BECKY**

Explaining our reasons for leaving to Chris had been less awkward then I'd worried about it being. Chris knew Lea, even as I had attempted to make up a more flattering reason for her taking off he silenced me. I'd always liked Chris; he was kind of like Lea's older brother. I think he knew what had happened; he was an excellent cop and a situation unfolding right around him he wouldn't be completely blind to. All he asked was that Lea calls him later. I'd appreciated that. I wasn't certain if Chris completely understood it was his daughter that had been a large cause of this, but I didn't bring it up and I was happy that all of us were saved a lot of drama. While I admired passionate feelings greatly, I didn't like being caught up in petty conflicts. All of our party now excused Embry and I headed back outside into the brisk Spring evening.

He had been quiet ever since Jake had left. His thoughts were obviously drawn inward and I couldn't tell if he was worried about his friend or something else was concerning him. I could feel a tentative bridge being built between the two of us. While getting to know him better I was coming to realize I was not only attracted to Embry physically for being a stunning man, but I was also drawn to who he was a person. He had such a quiet strength, that I had grown to admire greatly over the last few days.

I had also come to realize that Embry had something haunting him. I could see it in his eyes when he didn't think anyone was paying attention. Whatever it was, it was a plaguing though that seemed to be eating away at the inner joy I knew he had. I wasn't certain if Jake or Lea had noticed, or if they were just giving him his own space. I really wanted to ask my friend about it, but wasn't currently ready to have that conversation with her because I would also have to admit the fact I was developing really strong feeling for a guy that was only going to be around for a few weeks. It made me feel foolish.

Except I was beginning to see him reciprocate the same emotions back to me, the gentle way he made it clear my opinion was important to him. The easy way his warm, dark eyes found mind almost without thought now when he said something and was waiting for an answer. The uncomplicated way the two of us had functioned as a unit just a short while ago to help both of our friends. It had felt natural. Still Embry felt withdrawn and guarded at times and it made me wonder what his end intentions were. At the start of our meeting I would have been happy for just a sexual romp with this giant, gorgeous man. I think most able minded women would be. Now as my heart was slowly being drawn into the equation I wasn't certain just what I desired, but I was beginning to see how my friend had so thoroughly and completely fallen for Jake.

"I really hope Jake finds Lea." Embry's open ended statement drew me out of my own thoughts. My face lifting to look at his as we slowly walked along down the side walk. I guess that answered my earlier question to myself and he had in fact been concerned about his friend.

"Would it surprise you to know I'm not really worried?" My confession to the man next to me was honest. It wasn't that I was more fretful about my own emotions currently but simply that I truly was not anxious about what had occurred between our friends. I watched Embry's brows knit, he gave me a considering look.

"You really are that confidant everything will just work out?" I smiled at the disbelief in his voice, nodding my head.

"Lea and Jake need one another. While nothing in life is ever certain or easy, I can plainly see both of them are willing to put in the hard work it takes to stay together. I realized that the moment Jake was willing to drop everything to go after my friend even thought she was really being a little unreasonable and scared. Jake could have far more easily just waited for her return, but he cares about her so much he doesn't want her out there suffering alone. I know Lea feels the same about him, so I know eventually the two of them will work things out." I liked the confidence in my tone. I watched as Embry absorbed my words, staring silently ahead of the two of us walking for a while.

"Was Lea ever lonely before she met Jake?" Embry's tone was quiet, his gaze still away from mine. I got the distinct impression that even thought his question was about my friend it really wasn't her emotions he was concerned with.

"She never would have admitted it to anyone, but I think she was. We all handle our troubles in different ways, Lea just allowed her life to be consumed with other people's problems. It did in a way give her a real happiness to help others. I also truly believe she has found a genuine fulfillment like she had never known being with Jake and taking care of all of you. That's at least the impression I get from what she tells me." I took a chance I couldn't help it, moving my body closer to Embry's, allowing my side to press lightly against the extreme warmth of his frame. Lea had explained to me that it was a trait carried by his tribe. That a lot of them ran hot. I didn't think much more about it then I liked the way Embry's warm limbs felt against my often cold ones.

I felt a bubble of pleasure when Embry leaned back against me lightly, turning and offering me a soft smile. "Do you ever get lonely?" Embry had asked me the same question earlier, but I knew this time the curiosity behind it was bolder. He wasn't asking me if I missed having my friend around, he was asking me if I ever desired a steady, meaningful relationship like I had just described Lea having.

"I'm a romantic Embry, if you couldn't tell from my books. Nothing gives me more hope or happiness then the idea that I might one day find that person that really understands me and excepts me for just who I am." Our bodies were still touching. I really wanted to reach out for Embry's hand, or his face. I desperately suddenly wanted to ask him, if he was lonely, if he wanted the same things I did. Fear held my tongue. I was gripped by a small voice asking me what I would do if he didn't feel the same way as me? How things felt so perfect right now I didn't want to chance ruining it.

Embry was also silent. He hadn't moved away from me but he also didn't add anything to what I'd just said. He looked retrospective and thoughtful. I couldn't take the stretched stillness; it was allowing negative thoughts to creep into my head, my own doubts and fears eating away at the peace I'd felt moments ago. I decided we needed distraction; we needed something to make things easy between us again.

"Want some ice cream?" I watched Embry's eyes lift surprised at my suggestion. The corners of his mouth twitched fighting off a smile, as his steady dark eyes implored mine.

"That's kind of out of left field." He hadn't said no so I took that as a sign he was interested in the treat.

"One of the best ice cream shops in the city is just ahead down a side street. We could make a stop there?" I looked at him with curiosity. The grin he had been denying finally breaking free it was Embry's turn to nod at me.

"That sounds like a great idea." The intensity in the air between us dissipated a little. I could feel myself relaxing and sense Embry doing the same. At the moment as we neared the shop were we could get our food, I reasoned a lighter topic change might be more appropriate as we seemed to have fallen into this heavy, thought provoking area somehow.

"So what do you and all your friend's do for fun back in La Push? Lea gave me the general impression that it isn't exactly a _happening _place?" This topic seemed safe and also afforded me a way to learn more about the man walking with me. Embry laughed lightly at my question.

"What was your first clue? When Lea told you her big case for the month was arresting that chronic speeder they have been chasing for weeks?" Embry's tone was now filled with good humor and my own laughter followed his. "Well it rains a lot, which is probably why I picked up reading as much as I did. When we were in high school and we all used to hang out in Jake's garage all the time it was usually me reading, Jake fixing something and Quil filling the two of us in on every piece of gossip floating around on the reservation."

I listened to the short chuckle that suddenly left Embry's throat. "Actually except for venue it really hasn't changed that much for us. Now we are just at Jake and Lea's house and I'm usually reading, Jake is fixing something and Quil is filling us in on his crazy escapades for the week." The warmth had returned to Embry's face. It gave me a good feeling to see how close all of these men were and how much it reminded me of how Lea, Mairead and I used to be.

"When we actually have that rare nice day, we all try to get outside as much as possible. The woods in La Push are gorgeous, we have beaches and when we are feeling really adventurous we go cliff diving." I turned a slightly baffled expression on my face.

"Cliff diving?" We'd reached the store and I smiled as Embry held the door for me and we entered. There was a line and we joined at the end, waiting for our turn.

"Yeah jump from high up into the ocean below. Jake tired to get Lea to do it once but we found out she doesn't like heights and she got pretty pissed off at him. The rest of us found it kind of funny." I got the distinct impression of family between all of them again; I felt a mild flash of jealously. Wishing again I had went with Lea when she had moved, because it really seemed like she had found a small paradise in her new home.

I blinked so caught up in Embry's words and my own thoughts that it suddenly dawned on me that we were the next two in line. Looking up at the man standing next to me who had paused in his story I think also realizing we needed to know our orders and was looking at all the choices above. "I'm going to get mint chocolate chip." I watched him turn at my words, considering his own choice.

"I think I'll get that also, if that's alright? It sounds good!" The food and change of topic had done just what I hoped it would. The easy feeling had returned between Embry and me. I couldn't stop smiling now it seemed like as I nodded at his question.

"I'll get yours on a waffle cone too, they are homemade here and amazing!" I realized I hadn't eaten anything at the party and my stomach growled at the thought of the food. I wondered if maybe we should have ate something more substantial before we indulged ourselves and I realized I didn't care. Embry didn't seem to either as he appeared to be looking as forward to the ice cream as I was feeling.

We stepped up to the front of the counter and I ordered. As I finished telling the girl working everything we wanted I noticed her smile up at Embry in a flirtatious way. An immediate feeling of jealously seized me and I was caught by surprise. Without any actual thought about what I was doing, I pressed my body once again into his side. I had the feeling my look was kind of venomous as the girl's eyes shot over to me. She moved away to fulfill our order, but I noticed her expression become more distant and professional.

I felt a flush rise to my cheeks. Realizing how obvious I'd just laid claim to a man that I had absolutely no right to. Just because we were being friendly didn't mean I had any place controlling any other opportunists he might have, I pulled away suddenly embarrassed and was stunned when Embry's fingers drifted up and touched my hair. He played gently with the strands resting on my shoulder closet to him. My heart fluttered and I could feel my face blush harder. Embry just smiled at me and I couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, I wasn't completely certain what was happening.

The girl gave us both our orders without anymore incidents. I paid and still side by side Embry and I walked to the exit where he once again held the door for me to leave the building. We were both quiet for a few moments and I was worried he would be able to hear my heart pounding in my chest. I realized my ice cream was melting and I hadn't started eating it, I licked around the side, barely tasting a food I usually adored.

"So what did you and Lea used to do for fun when you lived together?" Embry's tone was even and I was left to wonder if he wasn't feeling the thundering of emotions running through me. It made me feel foolish again; I pushed those thoughts away to try to answer his question instead.

"You know for the fact we lived in New York City we really didn't do much more then you or your friends. We both love movies and to read, plus well our jobs took up a lot of our time. Lea loves Central Park so any nice day when we could get out we would end up there. We're not that exciting." The conversation had quelled the fast pace of my pulse and I was tasting my ice cream again as I ate it.

"It sounds like a good time to me, sometimes just being with the people most important to you is better then almost anything else." Embry's gait had slowed as he walked and his gaze was once again burning into mine. The flutter of my heart picked up again, trying to read what he was saying to me. Did his words simply mean what they were suppose to or was the large man at my side trying to hint at something more to me.

Studying my face Embry suddenly chuckled. I froze blinking surprised at what could have elicited that reaction from him. Lifting one warm hand up he gestured towards my chin. "You seemed to have missed your mouth." I felt the blush return to my face fiercely. I started to stammer realizing I had been so distracted while in the shop I hadn't grabbed any napkins for messes. The mirth fell from Embry's face and I watched it turn into a smolder up until this point I hadn't seen before.

His fingers twisted into my hair again and I felt trapped unable to move by his stare. Suddenly is large hand grasped the back of my head and I let out a surprised noise as he dipped his face close to mine. The sound I had made became a moan as Embry's heated, soft tongue ran along my chin, my eyes closing knowing nothing but the feel of him cleaning the mess off of my face that the ice cream had made.

He pulled my body to his with a growl; I looked back up as with an intensity I had yet to see Embry posses he crushed his lips against my own. I felt my dessert fall forgotten from my hands to the concrete below as my arms lifted to wrap around his neck. Where we were left my mind and wantonly I pressed my frame against the hard body of the man whose arms I was in. It hadn't really occurred to me just how much I had wanted this until suddenly it had happened.

Pulling away, gasping Embry was looking at me guiltily. I got the clear impression he thought he had done something wrong. That he had lost control of himself and was now concerned I was going to be upset with him. Roughly grabbing onto his hair I pulled his face back to mine and continued the kiss as if we had never paused.

Embry deepened the embrace and I felt his tongue lightly touch my own. The heat from his frame didn't seem real; all I knew at that moment was that I never wanted this touch to end. Yet we were on a public street and eventually it was a car horn or a dog barking or something that broke the spell between the two of us. Pulling apart, both panting lightly we considered each others expressions. I watched Embry lick his lips slowly his gaze still fastened on my mouth like he would like to attack it again.

"I guess you're not upset I kissed you?" His tone was questioning, I had to fight off a laugh.

"What was your first clue?" I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my expression. I'd already been shocked by the intensity of my emotions for this man once today and it seemed like it was something that planned to keep repeating itself.

"You dropped your ice cream." Embry was looking down at the small melted pile between us. I could see he was trying to regain control, his eyes still wild.

"I guess I got distracted." My heart it was still pounding so hard I was afraid it might burst out of my chest. The noise of both of our breathing was all we listened to for a few moments. I watch Embry's gaze dart around like he was trying to decide what his next course of action should be. I watched as it fell to the ice cream that even through everything we had just done had somehow managed to stay in his one hand.

"You could have mine if you want?" His tone was the normal Embry I'd gotten to know in the last few days, where ever that intense, passionate side of him had come from he seemed to have shoved it back under his control. I hated to admit just how much regret I felt about this fact.

"Why don't we share it?" I was having trouble clearly reading Embry's current thoughts. He had seemed to desire our touch as much as I had a moment ago, but now he seemed almost within drawn and reflective. It made me wonder if I had done something wrong. Mutely the man across from me nodded, he handed me his dessert and even though I wasn't hungry any more I felt obligated to eat some. I watched his eyes watch my mouth and tongue and I relaxed a little getting the impression that Embry didn't regret what had just happened and that he was interested in more.

I held out the cold treat to him, but not to pass back to his hand, I held it higher offering for him to take it with his mouth. His nostril flared as he watched me. I wondered if I had ever felt this extent of sexual attraction for someone. Dipping his face again, he bite off a small portion of the frozen food, his penetrating gaze never leaving mine.

"Maybe we should start to head back to my house. In case Lea or Jake show up?" I felt awkward, the naked lust being expressed between us in the middle of rows of people's houses. Embry looked away taking a deep breath; I could see regaining his own senses.

"That sounds like a good idea." His tone sounded more controlled, steady. I almost jumped when I felt something tickle against my fingers of my free hand. My gaze darting down I saw Embry was tentatively asking to hold my hand. I gripped his warm grasp within mine. Licking the ice cream again as we started to walk I held it back up to allow him to do the same.

Something had just changed and I realized with mild disappointment neither of us seemed ready to really talk about it yet. Still a door had been opened and we had both freely stepped through and I had a very genuine feeling neither of us was ready to leave. It might still take a little work, but now I knew this wasn't just physical or playful, but something far more intense and I couldn't wait to build on it more.

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><p><em>AN: A little Becky Embry fluff to start the new year! :D Hope everyone has a happy and safe New Years Eve! _

_I want to thank **Beaches of La Push**, **Fanatic22** and **Princess Aria Romanov** for the reviews last chapter! Now I'm dashing off to watch the ball drop!_


	12. Chapter 11

**JAKE**

I was staring down at the screen of the phone intently watching the tiny figure that represented my girlfriend slowly moving farther away from my current location. I growled, low and deep in frustration. I trusted in my tracking skills and I knew eventually I would find my woman, but knowing she was upset and alone was putting my nerves on edge. My wolf was once again straining at his barrier, silently pleaded with me to set him loose. He knew he could cover ground faster on four legs then I was on two, but I knew that I couldn't just run around the city in my giant canine form without being shot.

Stopping to readjust my position and figure out which way to go I wondered to myself how things had gotten so chaotic so quickly. I had to have done something; somehow I made Lea feel this insecure. I sighed, just wanting terribly to hold my imprint in my arms and tell her that I didn't love or want anyone else. I saw my path more clearly now and started walking again my long strides eating up the ground as I moved. Following Lea hadn't been hard so far, other then one small blip when she had taken the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan, but I'd quickly realized what she was doing and followed suit. Now she just keep heading more and more uptown and I wondered where her final destination would be.

As I walked I could feel the breeze in the early evening air picking up, it would still be light for a few more hours but it was getting cooler. Lea would be chilly; she was only wearing one thin shirt and jeans. I frowned to myself, not understanding why she had to leave like she did? Why if she was upset she couldn't have just screamed in my face, it would have been better then this emptiness of not knowing what she was thinking. I blinked pausing for a moment when I noticed Lea was heading into Central Park. She talked about that place a lot I guess I shouldn't be that surprised that she would seek solace there. I thought hard trying to remember the one area she always talked about liking to visit; suddenly it came to me Belvedere Castle.

Feeling pretty certain I knew where my imprint was going now I took off into a steady jog. I figured I probably looked a little odd, running down the sidewalk in my work boots paired with my jeans, but this was also one of the largest cities in the world and I didn't garner even a passing glance from most people. I didn't tire easily thanks to my supernatural powers and now speeding along at a quicker pace I started to cover ground much more swiftly.

I reached the edge of the park, watching as Lea's dot had seemed to find a resting place because she hadn't moved in the last ten minutes or so. I scented the air, the trees and greenery made the wolf inside whine for his forest home. Walking inside of the park, starting to follow a few paths, trying to figure out the best way to get to my girlfriend it was easy for me to tell why she enjoyed this place so much. Lea loved the woods; it had actually surprised me as we were getting to know one another how natural she was there. This was probably one of the closest places to a forest one would get in the city, still I could smell the cars and the people it made me miss La Push.

Walking up a path I noticed a gigantic stone building towering ahead. I didn't need to be a genius to guess this must be the castle Lea seemed to like so much. I checked Becky's phone again and my imprint's dot was just a little farther ahead still in the same spot. I began to feel apprehensive. Worried that Lea would still be angry with me and maybe rush away again. I steeled my conviction, my imprint needed me and I couldn't allow my own self doubts to push me away. I climbed up a small hill and walked pass the castle. Above I could see people milling around the building taking pictures and looking at the lake below. It was very pretty. I would have preferred to bring Lea here for more pleasant reasons. I shook my head signing.

I was walking down the gentle incline of a path now; weaving through some twists and turns when I froze. The clear scent of confusion and pain from my imprint hit me with the force of a brick wall. A canine whine of concern left my chest. Turning around a bend I found Lea sitting alone on a park bench looking silently and thoughtfully into the trees beyond. I was surprised; she didn't look angry but more sad. I awkwardly cleared my throat.

"Hey Baby." My voice was soft, non-threatening. I tried to relax my posture my hands in the pockets of my jeans, my expression I assumed concerned. I watched Lea's face turn, first shock written on her features which quickly melted to something akin to guilt. Her eyes downcast as she spoke back to me.

"You shouldn't have come after me Jake." I felt my heart fall until her two dark eyes lifted and the warmth in them for me took a weight off my chest. "And it might make me even more selfish but I'm really glad you did." Emotions surged through me. First and foremost I felt relief that Lea wasn't angry at me, I paced back and forth for a moment before I could no longer stand the distance between my girlfriend and I. Striding across the space between us and slamming myself down on the park bench next to Lea I firmly grasped one of her hands in my own. She looked up at me a little surprised.

"Look Lea, I'm not certain what I did to make you upset, but I didn't mean it I swear. I don't love anyone else but you and I can't picture myself ever even thinking about being with another woman." I felt my face screw up, having trouble trying to properly express what I wanted to say. "I know I can be completely fucking stupid sometimes and more then often a complete shit…" I didn't get to finish my apology. Without warning Lea slide closer to me leaning up to crush her warm mouth against my own.

I didn't know where the sudden mood change had come from but I wasn't going to complain about it. I returned the kiss, my free hand moving up to my imprint's hair, tugging it loose from the pony tail she had it in. I stayed silent as we broke apart, Lea not moving away but looking up into my gaze her guilty expression returning.

"Jake don't ever talk negatively about yourself like that again." Her voice was firm; I felt my eyes narrow in confusion. "You're the most wonderful man and I'm so lucky and so stupid because I almost threw everything we had away and why, because I got insecure and jealous." Lea turned away her head dropped down into her hands; I could hear the self loathing in her voice. "I need to apologize to you for everything I just did, I'm such a jackass."

Her speech stopped as I tilted forward nuzzling her shoulder and neck with my nose, leaning a small portion of my weight against her, resting my head against the top of hers. "I made you jealous?" I knew it was probably an odd thing for me to focus on, but I'd always been the one left feeling inadequate, watching the person I loved with someone else. While I certainly would never wish that pain on Lea, knowing she cared about me enough to feel it at the intensity that she obviously had right now made me feel special.

"Jake I'm already almost ten years older then you and you never age, how long is it going to be before you decide you would prefer someone younger, or thinner or prettier then me." I snapped back from her, I had never in all the time I had known her heard Lea say something in such a self defeated tone. I was almost angry for a moment. Did I really come across as that much of a shallow asshole? Watching my imprint's expression, she just kept staring down at the ground I realized it wasn't really me in the end that she doubted it was herself.

"Fuck that!" My tone came out maybe a little bit harsher then necessary, but it certainly drew Lea's full attention to what I was saying. "You're the most beautiful woman I know. You can be so gentle and caring, but at the same time fierce and unrelenting. My life makes sense when you're around; shit without you to point out things that probably should be obvious to me I would be a clueless moron sometimes. And Baby, you have to know that I love everything about your body. Fuck you know how much I walk around with a hard-on because I'm near you and I can't think of anything else but how much I want to be inside of you."

I scented the change in her mood. The desperation that had been flowing thickly from her started to fade and was replaced by solid relief and arousal from my last declaration. Leaning forward Lea pressed her face against my chest and after a moment I just held her, feeling really for the first time like I was giving her the same kind of support that I always looked for from her. I listened as her heart beat slowed, one of her hands creeping up to run along my side.

"I'm really sorry for running out like I did Jacob. I'm a huge asshole for leaving you standing there alone while I went to mope." Lea's tone was more even and honest; she seemed to have stopped beating herself up at least for the moment.

"I wasn't even mad Baby." I kissed the top of her head. "I just didn't want you to be pissed at me. I don't even really know what just happened at that party, but all I could think of the entire time I was trapped by your partner's daughter was how much I just wanted to get back to you so you could protect me." I felt the air as she laughed suddenly against my chest, her face turning up wards so that now her chin was pressed tightly against my frame.

"Me protect you?" I grinned at the amused disbelief in her tone. Ducking my head I nipped gently at her ear as she attempted to squirm away.

"I think that's kind of in the job description as my girlfriend, to get all territorial when another chick comes sniffing around me." My voice was teasing but I could feel how aware of her scent I was becoming. Living with other people fucking sucked. It had been only twenty four hours since we had last made love and while that may not seem like much time to a lot of people it felt like forever to me. Maybe it was my dual nature or just my natural personality but I craved Lea's touch, especially intimately the same way I needed food or water. My imprint was upset and my usual reaction would be to kiss, fondle and suck every part of her until she could no longer remember what had been wrong in the first place.

Lea inclined back, to allow herself to better gaze up at me, but all it did was accentuate her torso and draw my eyes to her chest. "Jacob." The warmth of the feelings in her voice caused a smile to cross my face, she reached out to trace her fingers along my lips, I think plainly able to see my desire for her. "It's odd, because I do completely trust you I swear." I felt my brows knit wondering how what she was saying related to my past statement. "Sometimes I think my need to nurture you, to never hold you back from achieving whatever you need to do gets in the way of my common sense. That and sometimes I guess I wonder why you would want me."

Lea was always so much more composed and sensible then me. Clearly looking through her emotions and knowing why she was feeling them. I knew she had left because she needed to gather her thoughts I just wished she could learn to do that while she was with me instead of having to run off alone. I took a deep breath, glancing around scenting the wind and not noticing any other people too close to were we where. The small path the bench was on kind of an off shoot and away from the main one most people seemed to be using. Leaning back against the hard wood of the seat I pulled Lea into my lap, her body straddling mine, her breasts pressed tightly against my chest.

"You know it's kind of funny." My imprint had been settling against my warmth, but I watched her eyebrow cock at my words. "You can't figure out sometimes why I want you and daily I think your going to wake the fuck up and realize you could do a shit ton better then a moody werewolf, with so much baggage he could probably fill the bottom of a commercial jet." My expression was honest. Lea really felt like this strong glue that was currently holding a lot of the pieces of my crazy life together. My girlfriend tried to look firm with me, like she was going to start to lecture me for my statement but the expression melted into adoration.

"What a perfect pair we are Mister Black." I sighed as she rested her head against my shoulder, one of my hands lifting up to lie against her ass gently rubbing its fine curve. "Both of us get so concerned with what's best for the other; we seem to forget the obvious. No one's better for us then each other." The truth of her statement hit me like a ton of bricks. Every doubt I'd been fighting with about us these last few weeks was stupid. Sure their probably was men out there that Lea could have an easier life with then me, but I could proudly say not one existed on this Earth that would love her as completely and devotedly as I did.

"Lately, I've been feeling like I've been holding you back. Figuring I was constantly asking too much of you, expecting you to keep me in line. I've been afraid to tell you that, because I was also scared if you saw the truth of this shit that you would finally realize how much I demanded of you and you would run the fuck away. I mean your life had to be so much less complicated when it was you being a cop here, running everything your way." I didn't even comprehend how good the confession would feel until I started telling Lea everything. How much bullshit I really did have bottled up inside of me and how liberating it felt to get it all out in the open.

"I was so lonely." I blinked surprised at the pain in my imprints voice and the scent of misery that flowed from her form. My arms wrapped up and embraced her, trying to protect her from her own emotions. "Daily seeing the absolute worst of people and always having to stay strong because it's what's expected of me. I try to pretend I'm stoic almost unemotional, but the truth is I care so much it's almost overwhelming. A lot of things happened to me Jake, which probably damaged me and made me unable to connect to other people properly. I couldn't get past my own walls I'd built up to allow a man in, to really love someone. Until I met you, it was instantaneous really. Something in you spoke to something in me and for the first time in a long time I really felt like I could depend on someone, like I didn't need to carry the world alone. I love you Jacob Black."

Lea had shifted her position while she was speaking so that she was looking me directly in the eye. The force of everything she was telling me wasn't lost on to me. My heart swelled in my chest realizing for probably the first time just how intensely important I was to this woman who meant so much to me. I knew my imprint loved me. I could clearly feel it through our bond, but it had never dawned on me that I could possible hold her world together as much as she did mine, that my strong, beautiful girlfriend could depend on me as much as I did her. Over whelmed so deeply in love with his woman before me, I wasn't certain what to even say.

I pressed my face into her neck, kissing and lightly nipping the soft skin presented to me there. Feeling her heart beat against my cheek, hoping she would be able to understand my wordless reply to her declaration. A soft whimper left my throat as her own face tucked in against the warmth of my neck, kissing, licking and nuzzling me back. "My wolf." Her words were a whisper, as her right hand drifted up into my hair massaging the back of my head. I realized too how stupid it was of me to think Lea would ever want something other then me and how idiotic it was of her to think I could ever find another woman who would accept everything about me like she did.

Bodies pressed tightly together, emotions bared so open I became keenly aware of a different yearning building renewed strength within me, the blood flowing to my groin, my cock growing hard, pressed up and against the warm heat emanating from between the legs of the woman straddling my lap, rubbing painfully against the fabric of my jeans. I stood, grabbing Lea and swinging her up into my arms. She made a surprised noise, but as soon as she saw my expression it turned into a teasing smile. I glanced around the area we were in before easily hopping a low fence and pushing my way into the underbrush of the trees surrounding where we had been sitting.

"You know we're not exactly in La Push right now Jake?" I saw the doubt on her face from my plan, I just shook my head.

"I'll be able to smell or hear anyone before they would even get close to us Baby. Anyway you've always loved fucking in the woods at home." I watched her brow rise at my comment. She would probably never admit it to anyone but I could tell the excited thrill Lea always got when we made love outside. This thanks to the poor winter weather we hadn't been able to do at all recently. My imprint didn't argue with me, which was as good as her admitting I was right.

I quickly jogged through the dense tree cover. Impressed by the random amounts of forest this park seemed to posses, stopping when I reached an open area just large enough to have a soft cover of grass. Scenting the small region I only smelled squirrels and raccoons and few other animals. No humans had been here in quite sometime. I carefully placed Lea back on her feet, only to be accosted by her slipping up on tip toe to crush her soft lips into mine.

Her desire hung plainly in the air surrounding her, making me feel heady my member straining for release from the confines of my clothes into the tight body of the woman I adored. I wrapped Lea firmly in my arms pulling her firmly against me deepening the kiss, my tongue lightly touching hers. My wolf had stayed fairly silent while allowing me to mend things with our mate, now he was completely at attention again. Vying with me for control, I actually found I was growing use to the ripple of my skin as I growled forcefully against the mouth of the woman I was kissing.

Lea pulled away and I groaned, displeased, reaching out to pull her back until I realized her intentions. Her eyes already heavy with lust she fell to her knees in front of me, scooting forward to tug on the button and zipper of my strained pants. My cock literally leapt from the confines of its prison, ram rod straight, veins pulsing as the warm breath of my imprint's mouth teased me against the backdrop of the cool spring air, the head engorged and shiny from a thin drizzle of precum wetting the tip.

Lea leaned forward and her satiny lips surrounded the crown of my member, a long, pleased whine echoing through the trees surrounding us. "Fuck, yes." I groaned, my hips thrusting slightly against the warm cavern of my imprint's mouth. Lea knew my body, she knew every place to touch and tease to get the full spectrum of pleasure for me; same as I did her. One of her hands lifted and Lea started to stroke the base of my cock in time with her firm suction on the tip. My world became lost to sensation and grabbing my imprint's hair I twisted it around my fingers pulling her roughly against my hips.

I felt the tightening in my balls as I came, a growling roar of release leaving my mouth. My seed shooting down the throat of the woman kneeling before me, my breath coming in staggered bursts, I watched Lea licking her lips, looking up at me through intense eyes, I could smell her damp arousal from between her thighs and inside my wolf cried to touch her. Reaching down I pulled my tee shirt up and over my head, grinning as my imprint's eyes gazed over my fit frame approval for me glowing from there depths. I couldn't even count how often Lea had seen me naked by now, but it always inflated my ego that she found me as undeniable attractive as she obviously did.

I spread my shirt onto the grass, giving Lea something to lie back on so that she wasn't simply in the dirt. My imprint was already pulling off her own top and I growled, falling to the ground next to her forcefully grabbing her hands wishing to remove her cloths myself. I tore her shirt from her body, her bra quickly following suit. Using my larger frame to push her towards my tee, I pressed her down onto the Earth my mouth first gently kissing one of her pert nipples before taking it between my teeth and softly biting and licking at Lea's body.

Lea writhed beneath me, straining against the pleasurable feelings flowing through her like electricity. I unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, pulled away and easily tugged both them and her panties off. Huffing lightly, drowning for a moment in the scent of her sex. My wolf snapped inside to dominate the beautiful woman laying below me, my cock twitching and started to fill with blood again. Nothing on Earth had ever driven me as crazy as my woman did. The desire to fill her with me, to posses her, I felt the ripple of the wolf over my skin once again.

"You know I still do own you one thing." Lea was panting lightly and turned to look at me mildly baffled. I stood to finally pull my own pants off; my eyebrow cocked waiting to see what my imprint would say.

"What are you talking about Jake?" Naked now, I knelt down, pushing apart my woman's legs breathing deeply and groaning, kissing along her inner thighs.

"You were very bad leaving me all alone today." My voice was firm but teasing, Lea's eyes had closed from my attention, but I saw them open again looking at me with annoyance.

"I said I was sorry Jake and I am really, but why are you mentioning this now?" Her hips raised ever so slightly, a demanding look on my imprint's face, she didn't want me to talk, she wanted me to make her scream. I sat back, smirking feeling very in control at this moment, teasingly scratching at my shoulder, schooling my expression to appear serious.

"Somehow I don't think simple words are enough of a punishment." My cock was full again and hard, I licked my lips almost able to taste the scent of my woman's arousal in the air. The look in Lea's eyes stirred a new fury in my wolf. Challenging, angry, she looked about ready to slug me for being an asshole and taunting her like I was. It just made me want to do it even more.

"Jake are you purposely trying to drive me crazy?" The condescending tone, I bared my teeth at her as I let out a throaty laugh.

"I'm trying to show you, that you shouldn't run away from me anymore. Whatever happens we're supposed to handle it together isn't that what you always tell me?" Lea's lips pursed at my comment and I had the feeling another smartass remark was about to leave her mouth. I never gave it the chance, leaping forward I grabbed my imprint. Growling playfully as I twisted her body around so she was lying on her stomach instead. Lea let out a surprised rush of air, but before she could react I lifted one of my hands and swiftly smacked her right ass cheek; leaving a lovely, large hand mark.

"Jacob!" Shock thick in Lea's tone, laughing I leaning down to plant hard kisses all over the area I had just hit. Quickly sitting back up I smacked her ass smartly again. This time she had been expecting it and my action was met by a groan from the woman below me and a greater intensity to her scent. My eyes narrowed, inside my wolf snapped at me for playing around for too long. I could feel my mouth watering and finally I couldn't deny myself the ability to taste her any longer.

I dropped to my own back, slithering forward and easily lifting her hips above my head. Lea cried out softly as my lips and teeth found her small pleasure nub, enflamed with her arousal and begging for my attention. I lapped down from her sheath up to the small mound of flesh were all of her intense desires were centered. She ground her hips down and into my face. Tasting her sweet nectar, I couldn't help myself as I smacked her ass again above me as I continued my assault on her body with my tongue. My imprint already so stimulated came hard, crying out for me as I could hear her hands raking through the grass surrounding us. Licking up her juices almost purring at the pleasure of the taste shooting straight down into my groin I pulled myself back up into a kneeling position behind my woman.

Lea was panting but managed to turn herself back over, flushed, momentarily sated by me her dark eyes lifted to lock with mine. "I can't promise Jake, but I'll genuinely try to never leave you like that again, because I know how it makes you feel and it isn't fair." Honesty in her expression and understanding, lust being washed over by love, I just couldn't stop touching my imprint as I stared down at her.

Leaning down cuddling close, first kissing her lightly, licking at her lips, before nuzzling between her breasts and once again against her neck, I sat back up, wanting to see her face, her expression the adoration for me that was so often in her eyes. "I know you like to be in control of your emotions Baby, but you at the very least need to tell me you need to leave and where you're going. Not that I mind hunting all over the city for you, fuck I would search the whole country for you if I needed to; but sometimes it's just nice to know you're not pissed off at me!"

I saw the brief flash of shame in my imprint's eyes and she studied the thick chords of my chest for a few moments before gazing back up at my face. "I guess even I still have some stuff to learn. I really am sorry Jake and thank you for coming after me." An understanding shared between us. It brought a soft smile to my face, my eyes dropping to look at the sight of my cock ram rod straight again, lying against the creamy shade of Lea's stomach.

I growled, my gaze finding the woman's below me and her face became a playful smirk. "I certainly hope we aren't done yet Wolf?" She dropped one hand, her fingers teasing along the swollen head of my member.

"Not a fucking chance!" I grabbed her legs, lifting her hips and positioning myself so that the crown of my cock was pressing against the entrance of her sheath. Lea's was looking up at me her gaze smoldering, begging me to take her. The ripple of my wolf, he wanted to feel the inside of his mate as badly as I did. With one low pleasurable hiss, I started to slide into my woman, inch by inch, her body, like a tight hot vice gripping my large size and attempting to pull me in deeper.

I groaned out loud buried to the hilt inside my imprint, her emotions and mine syncing so that the intensity of our love was momentarily almost overwhelming. Looking down I leaned forward my arms braced on each side of the woman below me. Slowly, steadily starting to thrust into Lea, Catching her mouth in a hard kiss as her first pleasure noises started to leave her throat.

We were lost within the waves of our desires and emotions. I pressed my face firmly against the side of hers, my breaths coming in short bursts as my rutting started to gain speed. For a few moments I lost sense of everything except her soft body pressed against mine and the hot grip of her sheath around my member. She wrapped her legs up and around me, as I thrust into her harder, her smaller frame rocking against the force of my movement. I heard Lea cry out, her body shuddering and clamping down on mine, a shiver of divine pleasure running through me at the added pressure of her orgasm.

Lea gasped for a few moments trying to regain her breath, before her hips joined mine in the movement again. My speed increasing more, I could feel the tightness growing in my balls as I knew I was nearing my completion. I bit Lea's shoulder hard, she gasped shocked as I shot load after load of hot cum inside her shaking body. My movement stilled, but my imprint and I continued to lie together, touching trying to come down from the natural high our bodies were currently soaring on. Finally I flopped over to the side, landing on my back staring up into the nearly cloudless sky. I briefly wondered how much time had passed as Lea curled her frame up and against me.

"Jake." I turned and held her tightly, keeping my imprint warm and listening to her heart slowly stop pounding. I kissed her forehead, my mind filled with about one hundred romantic things I wanted to say when something caught my attention. At some point during our lovemaking the direction of the breeze had changed. I hadn't noticed, my attention having been consumed by the scent of my woman, but now I could clearly smell the odor of another wolf. I snapped up, growling, but calmed a little when I realized that the canine stink was older and that it wasn't anywhere near were we were at the moment. Still I couldn't ignore what could be an important clue.

"What's wrong?" Lea could easily tell something had happened from my expression and posture. I sat up continuing to keep her form close to mine; it gave me a feeling of security.

"I smell an old wolf odor. It might be from the shape shifter. I should go look." I glanced down at my imprint with concern, knowing to go and investigate I would have to leave her here alone. Lea could tell why I looked worried and reaching up she touched my cheek.

"Go look. I'll be fine here and if by any chance something did happen, I'll just scream for you." Even with how certain she sounded still I hesitated. Finally she smacked my arm pushing against it lightly. "Now Jake, I can certainly watch out for myself for the few minutes you'll be gone." She was giving me a critical look and I knew she was right. Nodded, letting out a long sigh I pulled myself away from my woman with hesitation.

"Stay right here so I know where you are." I moved stretching the muscles in my torso before exploding into my shift. I now saw Lea through the eyes of my wolf form, her smell, her body enticing and mine. I pressed my cool nose against her hip, as she reached across to lovingly scratch behind one of my ears.

"I'll get dressed while you're gone." I let out a low whine of acknowledgment, watching for a moment as Lea started to gather her clothes. Finally the wolf scent hit me again and I turned trotting to the tree line but not running away quite yet. Lifting my leg I pissed on the largest tree surrounding the spot I was leaving Lea in clearly marking it and her as mine.

I heard Lea let out a stifled laugh behind me. I know amused at my inner wolfish need to claim things. Turning I gave her one last firm look, a command that she better listen before I leapt out into the trees. It had been a few days since I had last been in my canine form and it felt fantastic, my muscles pumping, the wind whipping through my scruff. I tore across the ground, easily being able to follow the stink of the other wolf. Slowing to a trot I ended at an enclosed area, surrounded my branches and vines, giving me the impression this had been a make shift den.

I paced around the area, smelling everything. I'd been correct. The other wolf had not been here in probably a few weeks. If Lea and I hadn't ventured into the trees like we had, I more then likely would not even have ever noticed the scent. I huffed, scarping a bit of dirt away with my front paws, seeing that the old occupant of den had left small bones from rabbits and other game. It seemed like humans were not the only thing on his menu. I was certain it was the shifter. The stink of the creature was similar to that of my own and my pack, mostly canine but with hints of the musk of a man.

Knowing I had learned everything I could on my own I turned, but before I headed back to my imprint I once again lifted my leg against one of the larger trees surrounding the den and pissed. If by some chance the other shifter did return I wanted to leave a clear message that he was not alone and I was not going to tolerate his bullshit.

The path back to where I'd left Lea took me next to no time to cover. Trotting back into the clearing my imprint was sitting on my shirt still, fully dressed now pulling her boots onto her feet. I whined softly and she turned at the noise a wide smile crossing her face. "I'm assuming you found what you were looking for?" I nodded my canine head sharply answering Lea's question.

Walking closer I didn't shift back just yet instead pressing my giant head against the small woman before me. Lea embraced me without hesitation, burying her face in my neck scruff, her right hand rubbing my massive chest. With a contented sigh I flopped over onto my side. Lea fell with me laughing, scooting around to curl up against my furry belly.

"I miss this." I licked Lea's neck and face, not even able to express how happy it made me that she loved wolf Jake as much as she did. I can still remember my own revulsion at myself when I first shifted, seeing my form through Lea's eyes had made me actually love my wolf half as much as my human.

I knew I should shift back, if for no other reason then I needed to get back to the apartment to tell Embry what I'd found. I would bring him back here tomorrow morning and see if he made anything more out of this new information then I had. Yet right now I couldn't move. I sheltered Lea's body with my large bushy tail, my wolf heat keeping her warm. It was twilight now, not that I would have any trouble seeing even in the dark to get us out of here and back home. Lea was laying on me playing with my ear closer to her, kissing my muzzle and laughing when I would turn my head to lick again at her face. It was easy and natural. Something I have to admit I never thought I would have with someone while in my wolf shape.

Finally with a groan I showed Lea we needed to rise. She pouted but understood and pulled herself up. Once on my feet I shifted back into my human form. Lea just smiled softly at me and going up on tip toe lightly kissed my lips. "You should probably put your clothes on Jake before we just start all over again." She smirked at me and I made a thoughtful face like I was trying to decide if that was a bad thing.

Lea threw my pants at me now laughing. I grabbed the item tossed at me and started to pull them on. "So was it the shifter?" Now that we were getting ready to head back Lea became focused more on the case again.

"It certainly seemed that way to me." I shrugged. "I'll bring Em back tomorrow so he can take a sniff himself and see what he thinks." My imprint looked thoughtful, before letting out a long sigh. I could see her expression become concerned.

"Don't worry Baby." I pulled my imprint to me kissing the side of her mouth. "We have his scent now, this just puts us one step closer to catching the bastard and we will. You can count on that." Lea nodded, sharing in the determination in my voice.

"When you say it like that Jake, how could I doubt it for a moment?"

* * *

><p><em>AN: I'm sorry this chapter has taken me a little bit longer then normal to get posted here. Work has been a bit crazy lately so I've been having trouble finding time to actually sit in front of my computer and get things done. I was really glad everyone enjoyed the growth of Embry and Becky's romance and hope you enjoy the progression of Lea and Jake's relationship here. I will try my hardest to get the next chapter up quicker!<em>

_Thank you so much to **sthrnpanther06**, **Beaches of La Push**, **DragonBby** and **Princess Aria Romanov** for their reviews last chapter! And thank you kindly to everyone who sent me New Years wishes too! _


	13. Chapter 12

**BECKY**

I didn't have that much to do today, so when I woke up I found myself just lying lazily in bed. Mick was at my side, purring softly enjoying the peaceful reprise from the guys staying with us whom he seemed to hate. I ran my fingers over the top of his head and his shoulders organizing all of the events from the day before in my brain. Embry had kissed me and it had been everything a woman would dream of a first kiss being, sweet, romantic and spontaneous. The problem was after it happened neither of us really said anything else about it.

I could easily tell we were getting closer. I found that friendly touching was becoming common place between us. Yet I still felt like Embry had a very definite and solid wall up around himself. One that I couldn't even begin to guess how I was suppose to get around. Sighing I stared down at my cat for a little while. Then last night had been so odd. I had been so happy when Lea and Jake came back and it was plainly obvious from the glow around my friend the two of them had made up, but for some reason suddenly everything had gotten really serious.

Jake had ushered Embry up to the roof in the middle of the two of us watching a movie. It was all very cryptic and strange. The men stayed up there talking for quiet some time and Lea well she acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. Checked some e-mail and asked me if I wanted to watch some television with her. What I really had wanted to do was demand to know what was going on, but I had this feeling that even if something was; no one was going to tell me about it.

Sighing I decided staying in bed all day and brooding wasn't going to solve anything. So I dragged myself up. Mick immediately deciding it was time for me to prepare his breakfast which made me smile for the normality of it. The large tom cat followed me down the stairs and to the kitchen. I paused but could plainly see Embry was already up and had put the bedding he used off to the side folded up. Shaking my head and continuing to my destination I pushed open the door surprised to only see Lea sitting there.

She was drinking tea and eating a bagel, while reading what I could only describe as research. I crossed to the cupboard where I kept my cat's food clearing my throat in case she was so engrossed she hadn't heard me enter. "Good morning!" I pulled out some dry food and a new can to give Mick. He was pacing at my feet waiting.

"Good morning!" Lea looked up smiling brightly at me, taking a sip of her drink.

"Where are the guys?" Pouring Mick's food into his dishes I placed them for the floor for him, where he began to devour his breakfast with gusto. My stomach rumbled telling me maybe I should do the same.

"Jake saw some stuff at the park last night that he was dying so show Embry. Hopefully they shouldn't be gone too long." Lea's face was guileless but still for some reason I felt like I was missing a key point.

"You guys were gone for a long time last night, is everything alright now?" I'd tried to keep the topic light the evening before, but now I just wanted something new to talk about so that I wouldn't dwell on the thoughts currently swirling around in my brain.

"Almost frighteningly perfect." Lea bit into her bagel. I'd crossed to get cereal, milk and a bowl. The blush that crossed my friend's face at the mention of the evening before made me pause and give her a considering look.

"Did Jake give you what I told him to?" Lea was extremely private when it came to personal matters such as the one I was asking so I knew her reaction would be amusing to me. I smirked pouring all my food into my bowl as my friend turned positively scarlet.

"Jake told me on the way home what you had told him to do and I probably did deserve it." Her eyes lowered her voice quite. My breakfast in hand and a grin on my face I joined my friend at the table, looking at her curiously.

"You deserved it, meaning Jake actually spanked you?" I couldn't hide my laugh, Lea just blushed more her stare centered firmly on her drink in front of her.

"Everything is alright now, we both realized we had hang-ups that were completely unfounded and that we were both acting a little foolish." Lea wasn't going to give me details and this didn't surprise me. The expression on her face spoke volumes and I could tease her forever with just the information I had so I didn't feel the need to press anymore.

"I'm glad the two of you worked everything out. Embry was really worried about Jake when you two took off yesterday." I shoved a spoonful of cereal into my mouth, watching as Lea's eyes narrowed like she was reading my reaction to my words.

"I've noticed you and Em have been getting closer?" Lea finished the last bite of her bagel. Her brow rose giving me a considering look. It was my turn to flush now, which made me feel silly. I mean Embry and I are both adults so what if we were attracted to each other.

"Embry seems like a really special guy, I've been enjoying getting to know him." I smiled across at Lea, my expression becoming curious as the look on her face took on a serious tone.

"Becky we've been friends for a long time and you know I always like to be completely honest with each other. Jake, Embry and really all of their friends; they have a lot of baggage. They are also all incredible people who are worth any difficulty you might face knowing them. I just want you to know if you're looking for more of a fling, Embry isn't really your guy." I wasn't certain what to make of the information my friend had just shared with me. She wasn't judging me I was certain of that, she was just being candid with me. Lea wanted all the cards laid out for me to see, she was protecting me, but I realized she was also guarding Embry.

"Well I wouldn't say I know Embry well enough to know what I want from him yet, but I can tell you I care about how he's feeling so I know I'm not looking for just a fling. I want to get to know Embry, but truthfully I'm not certain what he wants." I'd finished my cereal folding my hands in front of me on my table. "He kissed me yesterday on the way home from the party."

Lea's brows rose in surprise and it slowly melted into an almost maternal smile. "You could be so good for him Becky. Em, he's had a rough time at life. Like Jake, he's kind of been tossed around and abandoned in a lot of different ways." Her expression became sad. "Embry has been trying so hard lately to change his life around, to really make something out of himself; but some of his ghosts still haunt him and I think sometimes he doesn't feel like he has anyone he can turn to."

I absorbed all of Lea's words. Mulling over everything she had told me, trying to match it with different things I'd seen Embry do. "Do you think Embry would be comfortable if I tried to talk to him about his life? I mean I don't want to over step anything. I just genuinely am starting to care about him." I sighed, wanting to help, but also wanting to do it in the correct way.

"With Jacob, I gave him the time to open up on his own. I tried to show him how much I was there for him and also open up my emotions and feeling to him so he could see it was alright to share. Actually it didn't even take him long to do so." Lea looked thoughtful as she spoke. "Embry might be different though. Where Jake is kind of spontaneous and wild, Embry is more thoughtful and concise. Unfortunately time is also not on your side. We only have about a week and half left here." Lea was looking at me with concern. I sighed heavily, not really any closer to knowing what I wanted to do.

"Maybe I will try what you suggested first. Just kind of show him that I'm here for him and trust him and see how he responds. Beyond that I'll just have to figure out my next move." I swirled the left over milk around my cereal bowl working out in my head what I would like to say. Lea could see I was thinking and was respectfully silent, giving me time to collect my thoughts in my own way.

"So what did Jake want to show Embry in the park?" I needed to change the topic now, or else I was going to end up over thinking myself. Lea was sipping her tea and I watched a brief flash of awkwardness rush through her eyes. She coughed lightly as if putting off answering my question a few moments longer.

"I don't really know some statue or something. I was pretty distracted by everything that happened between Jake and me last night and wasn't paying complete attention to what he was explaining to me about it on the way home." I frowned. To my knowledge Lea had never lied to me before, but I could clearly tell she just had and the worst part was I had no idea why.

"Well it must have been pretty important for Jake to drag Embry out first thing in the morning." My tone was cool, I couldn't help it I was upset that my friend who I trusted as much as if she were my sister felt like she couldn't share something with me. I think Lea could feel my displeasure. She fell silent, staring blankly back down at her book she had been reading like she didn't know how to respond to my mood.

I wasn't certain if I should attempt to say something, if I cared enough to confront my friend. Her expression became almost pained. Clearing her throat suddenly she rose from the table gathering her dishes. "I'm going to go get ready for my shower." Her eyes met mine and they were full of apology. Lea wasn't acting like herself and I wasn't clear why she had to keep anything from me, except that it had something to do with the new men in her life; and it was clear to me at this moment the level of her loyalty to them. I couldn't quite understand why we suddenly seemed on different sides.

"I'll be around here." I sighed deeply. "No work for me today, I thought maybe we could all do something together, but maybe the three of you already have plans." My feelings were hurt; I couldn't make that plainer. Lea's expression was now full of guilt; she dumped her dishes in the sink.

"Becky, you know those times when you wanted me to give you details about a case and I would tell you I couldn't because I had promised to keep certain things private for my job?" Lea's gaze was steady on mine; I blinked at her uncertain where this line of thought was heading to.

"Yes, and I always told that I was fine with that, because I knew how important your work is to you." I was afraid I was coming off sounding a little defensive. Lea's expression was so serious now, my confusion at what was happening only deepened.

"This is like that. I have a duty and I can't break my word. I wish I could lay everything out for you that's going on, but it's not my place to do so." I almost wanted to scream at Lea for being so cryptic, but at the same time I recognized her expression. Whatever she was involved in, it was something she deemed very significant. Even in my own annoyance I couldn't help but respect my friend, because she wouldn't be acting this way unless she absolutely had to. I didn't have to like it, but I did trust Lea.

"I don't understand, but I can accept that. Just if you can't tell me something I would prefer you just say that, don't lie to me." I wanted to make that one thing clear. I would rather flat out know I wasn't allowed to be privy to something versus being strung along. Lea nodded her head reverently.

"That's fair." She gave me a tentative smile and after a moment I returned the gesture. "Now I really am going to go get ready to shower. I left a message for Chris, but until he gets back to me we don't have any plans so if you want we can all do something today?" Lea looked at me curious. I wanted to feel more burned by her actions, but knowing how much Lea would loath herself for even attempting to deceive me. I just couldn't bring myself to.

"I would like that, maybe you could try to get some alone time for Embry and I, so I could talk to him a little?" I wasn't going to dwell on what just happened and I wasn't going to blow my opportunity with someone as incredible as Embry was because of one odd blip in my friendship.

"Jake is easy to distract. That shouldn't be a problem." Lea grinned widely at me this time and I didn't even try to fight off the laugh I had at her expression.

"I've noticed." Lea playfully rolled her eyes at my tone. Crossing the room she gently laid her hand against my shoulder.

"So we're okay now?" Her expression was earnest. I nodded, not able to stay angry.

"Yeah it's not worth staying mad over anyway." I shrugged, having the feeling that if at any point it was possible Lea would explain everything to me and then I felt like it might be an amazing story.

"Thank you." I could see the gratitude frank in Lea's expression. We exchanged smiles one more time before she once again excused herself to go upstairs. I rose myself to dump my own dishes in the sink, wandering back to the table I glanced at the book Lea had been reading. It was about mental illness and the effects of the moon. Not light reading by any means and probably tied to the case that all of them were working on.

I sighed, my mood hovering somewhere between excited about the possibility of trying to get closer to Embry today and dour at the confrontation my friend and I had just had. I realized I needed to stay distracted or I was just going to explode with nervous energy. I had just purchased a few new novels and I frankly could not think of anything that would distract me better then a little reading. Walking down to my computer room, I grabbed a hardcover and made my way back towards the living room, settling onto my couch.

Above me was silent, Lea must be preparing for her day. I had almost finished the first chapter of my book when I finally heard the rumble of the water above from the shower starting. I calculated how long I thought she would be, because I figured I could get cleaned up after she finished. I'd only covered a few more pages when suddenly the front door slammed open and loud raucous laughter tore my attention away from my novel again. I placed my bookmark between the pages looking up just as the two men stomped loudly into the living room.

They were jostling against one another, playfully pushing and laughing. I was still thrown by the fact they seemed to growl at one another in a threatening way, but figured as Lea didn't seemed bothered by it maybe it wasn't my place to question their actions. Realizing I was sitting and quietly watching them, both men finally stopped there macho display and turned my way grinning.

"Good morning Becky." Jake had an easy air of authority about him. It was hard to describe but he was commanding without even trying to be. Embry smiled softly at me, maybe a little shyly, though it might have just been hopeful thinking on my part.

"Good morning, you guys were up early today?" I kept a smile on my face, not wishing for the two men to know the conflict that had just happened between Lea and I.

"Yeah we wanted a little guy time to go out and explore." The easy grin on Jake's face was contagious. Glancing around the room his look became questioning. "Where's Lea?" I pointed upstairs at the obvious noise of the shower. I watched Jake's expression become a playful smirk. "Thank you!"

The giant man was up the stairs and gone quicker then I would had thought possible. I blinked for a moment at where his retreating form had been, before finally laughed in spite of myself. "Jake certainly has no problem going after what he wants does he?" My eyes went back to Embry who was crossing the room to fall into one of my arm chairs, rolling his eyes at my statement.

"Lea spoils him too much. It's made him worst." Though his words sounded judgmental I could see the amusement in his expression and I had the feeling he enjoyed teasing his friend as much as I did mine, though Jake didn't seem the type to get flustered as much as Lea would. He was probably mostly proud of his actions.

"Can you really blame her, everyone deserves the ability to pamper those special to them every once in a while wouldn't you say?" I gave Embry a considering look wondering how he would respond to my question. I watched his eyes narrow for just a moment and his nostrils flare. Slowly a large grin spread across his features.

"Yeah I guess they do." His octave seemed lower and I hazarded to think that I saw his gaze drag over my body for a moment. I cleared my throat feeling butterflies rush into my stomach as I suddenly graphically visualized myself spoiling Embry. Kneeling between his thighs my mouth wrapped firmly around his member. I coughed, feeling a hot flush run to my face. Our eyes locked, I watched Embry's frame tense and for a moment I felt like he might spring across the room at me. My sensible mind telling me how stupid that was I looked away feeling embarrassed.

"So what were you and Jake doing this morning?" It wasn't so much that I was fishing for information as I urgently needed to think about something other then the way Embry's hard body would feel pressed against my own.

"We went to the park, ran around in the trees looking for stupid bullshit, Jake's idea of a good time." Embry's tone was even, but his eyes were still burning into me. I felt a shiver of anticipation run down my spine as I found myself staring at the younger man again.

"Wow, I'm surprised he dragged you out of bed so early for that." The butterflies in my mid-section now felt like an army. I watched Embry slowly close his eyes taking one long deep breath; I hoped it was to maybe harness feelings close to the intensity of my own.

"It was easier for us to do what we wanted to with less people around. Honestly it was great to get out in the cooler morning air." Embry seemed more relaxed like he had once again regained control of his senses. I watched his eyes drift down now to the novel in my lap. "Were you reading?" From the tone of his question I got the impression it was him now that was trying to ask the distracting question.

"Yeah, Lea and I had been talking, but after she went up stairs I needed to do something to waste time." Mentioning earlier made me remember what Lea and I had been discussing and my mood fell a little again. I tried to force a smile on my face, because I didn't want to add to problems I already knew Embry had.

"Are you alright?" His inquiry surprised me. Maybe I was being more obvious about my feelings then I thought. I must have looked at him baffled for a moment because his expression softened. "Sorry you just seemed out of sorts when Jake and I arrived. I know it's none of my business but I hope you weren't upset."

Embry was as perceptive as he was tactful. I allowed the frown to cross my face looking down at my hands for a moment. "It's hard for me I guess, I'm used to being at the center of my friend's life and now I feel kind of left out. Which probably sounds stupid, but Lea and I used to tell each other everything and now I feel like she has secrets." I glanced back up at Embry feeling foolish for my emotions and was surprised when a look of guilt crossed his face.

"It's not stupid. Life is so fucking complicated sometimes." Embry sighed and I paused, seeing his expression become serious. "I have a lot of crap going on right now too and I can't tell Jake about all of it and I feel so terrible about it. It sucks, but sometimes it's not our secret to tell and sometimes it's just better for the other person not to know." Embry's gaze was steady. Feelings of retrospect taking over me, making me wonder which of the two categories I feel into.

"I guess ignorance really is bliss." My expression was rueful. Embry studied my face for a moment before he let out an almost bitter laugh.

"That's probably really true." He didn't offer any more of an explanation then those words but I had this very real feeling I had just made a tiny crack in his walls. That a little bit of his own personal, dark demons had just slipped through and I realized Lea had been right. Given time and trust I knew Embry would open up to me I just questioned if I had a long enough period to earn how much I needed to know everything.

There was a pause of awkward silence. I think both Embry and myself uncertain what to say next after our conversation once again drifted to such a serious area. I looked back down at my book and then curious looked up at the clock. I realized quite a bit of time had passed now since Lea had initially jumped in the shower. "I hope Jake doesn't keep her in there for too long. I wanted to get cleaned up sometime before lunch." I allowed my tone to come out with a teasing quality to it. Embry's expression became a smirk which turned into a laugh.

"Like I said she spoils him way to much." His eye glowed with his smile, I was glad to be able to shift the mood back to where we could both feel comfortable. As much as I really enjoyed both of us opening up to one another, sitting uneasily together because of it wasn't going to help our relationship progress either. I liked when Embry looked relaxed, and I found I was really starting to enjoy when his gaze on me became almost predatory. I really wanted to kiss him again, but this didn't seem like the right time.

Almost like they could feel us judging them, the water shut off above and I could now hear our friends moving around upstairs. Even though I'd just been saying I wanted the bathroom next I made no move to claim it quickly, but instead continued to smile at Embry. He asked me about the book I was reading and that launched us into a conversation about good science fiction authors. I wished he would move to the couch too so that we could be closer. I can't honestly remember the last time I so desperately wanted to touch someone as I did him.

Before too long I heard foot steps coming down the stairs. Lea first, followed closely by Jake. Embry glanced up at his friend, eyebrow raised and Jake just grinned widely back at him. I watched Embry roll his eyes and shake his head which caused me to giggle. "You wanted the shower next right Becky?" A rumble in Embry's tone caught my attention as once again my thoughts leapt to an impure nature.

Embry coughed and Jake started to laugh. Lea smacked him with a pointed look, I felt myself blinking. Confused, sometimes I almost felt like everyone in the room had an idea what I was thinking and considering what my current thoughts were that was kind of embarrassing. "Why did you want to use it first Embry." I tried to shake off the feeling I was having as purely being self conscious.

I think Embry was about to reply when suddenly from her pocket the ring tone of Lea's phone blared out. My friend looked at the caller ID and sighed. I could see the sheepish look on her face and knew it was Chris and she didn't want to have to explain what happened at his party the night before. Lea answered the phone, walking away and towards the stairs to head to the roof for her conversation. Jake watched her go but didn't interfere.

"Go ahead and take the shower Becky. It should be late enough in the morning at home for me to check in with my Mom. I should do that first anyway." The look Embry gave me as he spoke was warm. It made my heart flutter in my chest.

"Thank you." I rose, smiling at Jake as I past him. He returned the gesture as he was turning back to Embry. I got the feeling Jake had gotten a clear idea of my feelings for his friend and that it was about to be discussed. I flushed as I walked up the stairs, knowing Lea and I had talked about pretty much the same thing that morning, but that it seemed more embarrassing thinking about the two men talking about it.

I tip toed up to the roof quickly before grabbing my clothes for the day, peeking out at Lea. She was leaning back in one of the chairs listening, a serious expression on her face. Her eye met mine and she gave me a curious look. "Are we good for today?" I mouthed at my friend I just wanted to know what my plans should be.

Lea excused herself in the middle of talking and I heard her say Chris's name so I had been right about the caller. Smiling at me she nodded. "Yeah Chris can't get together until tomorrow, so we can just hang out tonight." She grinned at me and inside I felt a surge of excitement. Hoping maybe this was chance for me to continue trying to work on that trust between Embry and I. Waving a thank you to my friend, I hopped back down the stairs to shower and prepare for the day.

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><p><em>AN: Tried to get this chapter up as quickly as I could for all of you! Hopefully you like it :) My work continues to be a bit crazy this month but I will push myself to get things posted in as timely of a manner as I can! <em>

_Thank you everyone who read the last chapter and a special thanks to Beaches of La Push, SundaySolis, DragonBby and Fanatic22 for their thoughtful reviews! Usually I'm more talkative down here, but I'm currently brain dead at the moment *laughs* Enjoy!_


	14. Chapter 13

**LEA**

It was raining. It made me think of Forks and it was strange, sitting in Brooklyn in what I used to consider my home realizing that the weather was in fact reminding me of the place I now considered just that. Becky had taken Embry to the book store about an hour ago. It had afforded Jake and me, a lazy morning together, which we had both enjoyed.

I had made waffles and we had lain in bed with me feeding him his portion. Jake had of course gotten syrup on himself somehow, which had meant I just had to lick it off. We probably could have stayed in bed until our friends return except Jake's phone had rung. It had been Leah and she had a laundry list of things she wanted to cover with Jake along with getting caught up with what we had been doing.

Jake and I had eventually ended up on the couch, he was laughing at a story Leah was relating to him about her brother and I was snuggled up against Jake's side watching the weather getting worst outside. Unless they decided to pay for a taxi, I had the feeling Embry and Becky would be hanging out at the store longer then planned.

I had patched everything up with Chris. He knew me almost as well as the man sitting with me and my moodiness at times just didn't surprise him anymore. He was just happy Jake and I had worked everything out. It pleased me that my old partner who I trusted so much really liked my new boyfriend. I know Chris's approval shouldn't matter to me but I couldn't help it, it really did.

Jake, Embry and I were going to be heading back to the station later this afternoon. Chris wanted to throw more ideas at me and I really think just socialize. I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed, wondering how we were going to find one shape shifter in this entire city, but then I remembered how Chris and I used to do just that with regular people that committed crime. We just needed to follow the leads which I was hoping he would have more of.

Jake was still shirtless, having just pulled on shorts to come downstairs for his phone call and his skin felt welcomingly warm against me. Maybe it was the dreary weather outside but I couldn't shake this sleepy feeling I was having. Jake was asking about his family now and it seemed from his end of the conversation that everything was going very well in La Push. That gave me a sense of relief.

Finally after a surprisingly long conversation Jake hung up his cell phone and tossed it across on the table in front of us. "Leah seems to be doing well. She of course says hello to you." Jacob's expression was warm and teasing, his big hands drifting down to run along my side.

"I miss her. No one else can properly make fun of you like Leah can." I grinned cheekily up at the man above watching him roll his eyes at my comment.

"Thanks, makes me look forward to going home." I laughed as Jake playfully smacked my ass, his remark sarcastic. My eyes turned away from my boyfriend as the rain started to pelt down harder against the roof and windows of the house. Thunder rumbled loudly in the distance and instinctively I curled up closer to Jake. He leaned down his expression softening as he kissed my temple.

"Quiet the storm huh?" I adored the soft rumble in my man's voice; I lifted my face to softly brush my lips against his.

"I don't think Becky and Embry are going to be getting home anytime soon." Jake nuzzled my cheek with his nose as I talked. I let out a peaceful sigh.

"I'm certain the two of them are enjoy themselves talking about books and probably holding hands and fighting off their need to tear at each others clothes." Jake laughed throatily, right next to my ear. I couldn't stop my own giggle, falling onto my back so that my head was resting right in Jake's lap staring up into his handsome face.

"I think it's good for them both. Embry's too serious and Becky is too involved in her work." I nodded matter-o-factly. Jake's grin just grew.

"Sounds kind of like this other couple I knew from about six month ago." His fingers ran through my hair. My expression took on a mock serious tone.

"Really, and what happened to them?" The smile fell from Jake's face as his expression became solemn.

"From what I hear the poor asshole is so fucking in love with the girl now, he doesn't know what to do with himself. He can't imagine his life without her anymore." Even knowing how Jake felt about me, sometimes having it so blatantly spelled out without any hidden context or meaning, just raw emotions; it actually, literally made it feel like my heart stopped.

"Jacob!" His name left my mouth as a cry; clumsily I pulled myself up and threw my lips against his. His embrace was warm and inviting, his smell the musk of desire and wolf. His mouth met mine, his tongue tempting me to deepen the kiss. Jake reached out and grasped my hips, pulling my body towards his; my arms wrapping around his neck to hold our lips together. Roughly he pushed me down against the couch; I could feel the length of his hardening cock through his shorts pressed against the heat between my thighs. His hands moving up and under my shirt tickling along my back, I had yet to put on a bra that day and his access to my body was completely unheeded. His lips moved to my neck, nipping and licking as I cried out softly.

Suddenly out of no where the ring tone on Jake's phone blared out behind him on the table. The giant man pulled away from me his form looming above, his expression now a scowl as he growled deeply at the offending object. I could see the muscles tighten in his chest and shoulders from his annoyance. Somehow to me it was adorable and sexy at the same time. The ring tone started over again and with a groan Jake pulled away to finally answer his phone. He didn't even glance at the caller as he flipped it open.

"This better be a fucking life or death situation." Jake's tone was dead pan. I scooted away from him as I sat up, not able to hold back the chuckle that left my mouth at how aggravated he looked. His dark gaze flipped back to me as I could hear a male voice buzzing over his phone explaining something to him. Jake just grunted in acknowledgement. I let out a gasp as Jake's large, warm fingers tickled up my thighs towards the bottoms of the small pajama shorts I was wearing. I shook my finger at him, motioning that he should behave. Jacob just grinned, making a noise of agreement as one of his fingers slide along the fabric over the heat between my legs.

I bit my lip as a shiver of pleasure ran up my spine; I watched Jake's nostril's flare and I knew he could scent just what his touch was doing to me. "Yeah that's fine." He continued his conversation as grabbing the front of my shorts Jake forcefully pulled them off my hips, it took a little work with his one hand still holding his phone but he threw my pajama bottoms to the floor.

"Wait what happened?" Jake's face scrunched up in question and I playfully nipped at his fingers as he now pulled my top over my head and off of me. My eyes narrowed a little as I watched him listening to the caller, but quickly lost interest in what my boyfriend was doing as one of his fingers drifted down to and started to stroke my clit. Feather light touches, Jake was watching my expression, his own shorts ballooning forward as his erection begged to escape the confines of his clothes.

"Fuck I would have beat the shit out of that asshole." I tried to muffle my cries, Jake's touch causing my body to squirm and grow soft for him. His hand shifted down farther and slowly the Native man slide one of his large fingers inside of me. My hips thrusting in time with the attention he was paying me. "Well I'm glad you worked everything out your way more patience then I could ever be that's for sure." I was nearly purring, my body feeling like a liquid heat was pouring through it. I mewled; stopping to look up at Jake in question as he suddenly pulled his hand away.

"Anyway I should go." Grinning at me, he slides his finger into his own mouth as the voice on the phone answered him, sucking off my essence. Jake sat up a little straighter now and I flashed him a saucy smile as he started to unbutton his own pants. "Yeah I think Lea and I can keep each other entertained for a few more hours." I felt myself actually salivate as Jake's rock hard cock flopped out of his now open shorts. It's head dewy with precum. I squirmed desire hitting me like a freight train. "Sure, see you guys soon."

Jake flipped the phone shut, hanging it up and tossed it back on the table as he kicked his pants the rest of the way off. He leaned forward and down, grabbing both of my arms and pressing them above my head and against the soft arm of the couch. His mouth found the nipple of my left breast and I cried out as his tongue teased me. My legs wrapped up and around his waist pulling him closer to me as Jacob forcefully thrust inside of me.

I let out little happy cries, my body feeling every inch of his inside, completely filling my smaller frame as he lifted his face, his mouth right next to me ear. "That was Embry." I nuzzled at his neck as he spoke, his motion picking up speed. "He and Becky are going to be a little late because of the weather. Some asshole recognized Becky from some magazine on the subway and gave her a hard time but Em took care of it." I cried out loud as Jake bit my shoulder, before licking the same area. "They said they'll be back in time for us to head to the Station later."

Jake's rhythm picked up, the audible sound of our bodies colliding filling the room. "Fuck Baby, how do you feel so good? Every time it doesn't seem possible." Jacob's voice came out in strangled huffs, his eyes closing in enjoyment as he continued to rut into me. I moved my hips in time with his, my arms still trapped by him, I was at his mercy and I hated to admit I loved it.

Pleasure collecting in my womb, Jake growling loudly in my ear, his movements becoming rougher, more erratic and I can almost see him connect with his wolf. The two of them pinning me, displaying there masculine dominance, I focus on the connection between Jake and I. I close my eyes and bury my face against Jacob's exposed neck. I can feel the weight of his lust, but I can also feel the complete heaviness of his love. Almost as overwhelming as the heat of his body as he reaches his fevers pitch. I choke out a cry as my orgasm consumes me.

I fall back against the soft material of the couch useless, my entire frame tingling as with a few last hard thrusts Jacob cums inside of me. Both of us are breathing hard, Jake dropping his hold on my arms to brace his frame around me so as not to crush me. I feel cocooned, protected by the man above me. I relished it; I'd almost forgotten what it was like to actually feel this sense of safety and security.

"So is Becky alright?" Jake's words from earlier slowly start to actually process through my brain. Jacob flops back, sitting up, while grinning and pulling me with him. I collide with his massive chest, his heart still thundering against my ear as I nuzzle against the man holding me.

"Yeah it wasn't that big of a deal I guess. He was nuts or something, starting calling her books "devil's work"." The growl in Jake's tone told me his didn't appreciate the sentiment of the gentleman. "Embry told him to get lost and when an almost seven foot tall guy yells at you, people usual listen." Jake's hands were running down my back and along my side, I found myself not able to stop staring into his dark eyes.

"I love you Jacob Black." The grin from his last comment melted down into a warm smile as Jake could see the unashamed adoration I had for him in my expression.

'Well I'll never understand how I got so fucking lucky." His fingers twisted in my hair playing in the disheveled curls.

"Luck had nothing to do with it. It's completely a product of what an incredible man you are, and you getting everything you deserve out of life." I watched his brow rise at my comment, but I held my expression steady.

"You keep telling me that Lea, maybe someday I'll actually start to believe it." His expression was teasing, but I knew his words held truth.

"Why else would I so willing devote so much of my life to you if it wasn't true?" I looked up at the large man smartly a somewhat superior grin on my face. "I'm very perceptive of people and I only associate with the best." Jake leaned down to once again capture my mouth at my words.

"Fuck where were you when I was sixteen?!" He whined against my lips, leaning back pouting down at me, I couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"Don't you know I was waiting for you to grow up so that we could find each other and be together?" I leaned against Jake's shoulder, looking up at him cutely through long lashes. I was surprised when Jacob's face suddenly became serious and he pulled me in a tight embrace, his tone full of emotion as he spoke.

"Lea I promise you I'm going to keep working hard everyday until I live up to everything you believe about me." I was taken aback by the intensity of Jake's tone, raising one of my arms I rang my fingers threw his short hair on the back of his head holding him just as tightly against me.

"One day you'll see you already do." Our emotions tying us together again, I could feel Jake's cock swelling at the closeness of our bodies, ready to join us physically also. I had the feeling we were going to be very busy until our friends returned and I also knew I was going to enjoy every moment of it.

The rain storm had weakened by the time Jake, Embry and I made our way back to my old station. No longer pouring down the weather had settled itself to a fine drizzling mist. All of us managed to stay fairly dry on our journey. Riding the elevator back up to homicide I smiled at Jake, where he had been so apprehensive at our last visit this afternoon he looked relaxed. I watched my boyfriend and Embry jostle one another, both growling playfully. It made me smile inwardly. Sometimes watching Jake and his pack mates I could almost picture them in their wolf form when they were goofing around. I noticed the more comfortable they all became with their dual nature the more it leaked through to their everyday life.

Our floor dinged and the door opened. I pushed my way through the two distracted men, grinning back at them. Jake now growled at me, all the morning activities had left him very good-humored. I was hoping he would be able to focus on the situation at hand. Embry too seemed distracted. I knew part of it was Becky. The two of them had come back to the house full of stories about their adventures together, sitting close to one another on the couch, Embry making an annoyed face at Jacob as he could easily scent our activities from earlier. Sometimes I was glad my senses were not as keen.

I also got the feeling something else was weighting on Embry's mind and it wasn't how annoying his Alpha wolf was to him at times. I saw he seemed to be checking his phone more often then seemed needed to me. It made me wonder what he was waiting for. Taking a deep breath trying to clear my mind of everything but the questions facing us about the shifter murders, it was a difficult task with Jake trying his hardest to be as adorable as possible.

Walking into the homicide division Chris was busy at his desk, sleeves rolled up and I could see all business on his face. Paper covered every blank spot at his work station and a small ball of hope formed in my midsection, that maybe he had found something in the few days since we had last been here. Chris glanced up at our approaching foot steps and the smile that crossed his face brought one to my own.

"I was starting to wonder if you guys were going to blow me off." Chris stood extended a friendly hand to Jake and Embry. They both returned the hand shake as I answered Chris's question.

"What do you mean we're right on time?" I frowned up at the much larger cop and made a surprised noise as he pulled me into a hug. I grinned knowing now that my little stunt from the party had worried him and he was expressing it in his usual fatherly way. He stepped back to look down at me again, but not before Jake growled a low warning at the other man. We both turned to give him a quizzical look. I certainly hope Jacob would not feel any reason to be threatened by a guy that was more like my Dad or older brother then anything else. I realized Jake was posturing, and part of me believed he really couldn't help it. It's not that he even logically thought Chris was trying anything it was just natural for him to warn off another male encroaching on his territory. Chris raised an amused brow at my boyfriend and Embry cleared his throat, trying to laugh off the oddity of the situation.

I was happy when my old partner decided to ignore the somewhat abnormal event and instead turned back to me. "Well you always used to be early. I think country life _is _making you soft." Chris was grinning and I made a face at him for his teasing.

"Yeah well, Detective life must be making you compliant. You and I would have usually busted a perp by now." I crossed my arms looking up at Chris smartly. He flashed a cheeky grin at me as he shook his head.

"That's right I can't do anything without you right?" Chris turned purposely rolling his eyes at Jake and Embry. I made a face at him. "Well you will be happy to know, somehow fumbling around on my own I have gotten a solid idea of this guy's territory." My expression was perhaps too pleased, because it just made Chris look smug.

"What did you find out?" I could now see Embry and Jake were moving closer to the desk next to us, hoping to glance at what these new clues were.

"Well the composite sketch we got from the last victim's friends actually turned out to be a great lead. Had some beat cops show it around and threw it up on the news and a lot of tips started coming in. People have seen this guy, quite a lot actually. It's weird though, people remember his face but still no one knows his name or where he lives. It's almost like he's a ghost or something." Chris had walked us all over to the desk as he talked and gestured to maps and grids and statements strewn everywhere. I watched Jake picking up things and studying them his eyes narrowing in focus. He and Embry knew the shifter used to have a den in the park, I assumed he was looking at possibilities for a new den in another area.

"Did the lunar cycle's thing lead to any new revelations?" I allowed Jake to soak in everything in front of him slowly, while keeping Chris from asking him too many questions.

"There were a few crimes that could have been connected. Weird things stolen, missing pets, but I just can't connect everything together. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing a key piece of what this puzzle is all about." Chris frowned I could see aggravated. Jake was still studying the papers in front of him and it was Embry and I that exchanged looks. I really wished there was a way for me to explain all of this to Chris, but I would never risk putting the pack in danger without a dire reason.

"Still it sounds like you are narrowing things down?" I tried to appear hopeful. Chris sighed heavily, shrugging his massive shoulders.

"It's kind of a one step forward; two steps back kind of thing. I feel like we make some real progress, but then that just opens up to a ton more questions. I've never tried to track someone like this before. He doesn't have a home, that he owns or rents and fuck even a place he squats at. People remember seeing him, sometimes because he would do funny shit, but no one knows where he comes from. Usually people at least have jobs, get benefits something that eventually allows us to trace them."

"Define _funny shit_." Jake's attention had finally been pulled away from the maps and back up to our conversation. Chris flopped back into his chair, rubbing his temples in thought of what he wanted to say.

"Really sensitive to smells, making weird ass noises sometimes and one lady said her cats flipped the fuck out when they saw him. She said her pets aren't that friendly with people they don't know but she has never seen them act like they did with him." The big cop threw his hands up with a baffled look on his face. It was rough because while all of this made perfect sense to us, I could easily tell why it was confusing to my old partner.

"Would it be alright if you could copy a few of these grids you made for us? Tracking is kind of a hobby of mine and I would love to have some more spare time to just sit down and compare them?" Jake and Embry exchanged looks and I had the feeling that Jake just wanted the maps so that he and Embry would know where to run a few patrols. They could find out so much more with their extra strong senses in their wolf form. The grids would allow them to know where to look so they wouldn't have to run all around town.

Chris looked up at me. While I knew he wanted more then anything to solve this case I also knew he was hesitant to allow any of his hard earned information out of his sight. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could get blasted all over the news and the internet and really screw up his chance to be able to keep the fact they were slowly closing in on the killer private.

"What if I made the copies and took personal responsibility for them?" I had faith in Jake and in the fact he needed this information to best be able to figure out where this shifter was. I also knew Chris trusted me and would be less concerned if he felt I was in charge of everything. I hoped this wouldn't rub Jake the wrong way, but neither he nor Embry seemed too affected by the fact I'd asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Just you know all the protocols this doesn't go any farther then between the four of us right?" Chris looked in each of our faces, I nodded firmly, and I knew the drill. Jake and Embry both gave Chris a respectful signal with a bob of their heads also.

"I'll run down the hall to the copy room then. What do you need Jake?" I watched the large Native man's brow knit as he looked at all the papers again. Carefully judging which ones would best suit his needs. He let out a long breath, picking up six different sheets and handing them to me.

"This would be perfect." His expression held mine and I nodded to him. Jake looked more confident and I had the feeling that this new grid might be a very good clue for him and Embry. I glanced back to Chris confirming one more time that what I was taking was alright. Looking down at my hands for a moment at which papers I was holding he nodded.

"I think if it's alright I'm going to grab myself a tea too, do any of you want anything?" I looked to each man's face before me, I saw them all consider for a moment before replying.

"I still got a coffee here but thanks." Chris smiled and gestured towards his half consumed drink.

"I'm good right now Baby, thank you." Jake's warm tone brought a smile to my face. Next to my boyfriend Embry shuffled around a little.

'I'm good too Lea thanks." The other Native man flashed me a grin. I nodded to all three turning and walking out of the homicide squad room and down the hallway. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Embry leaning back on Chris's desk and Jake crashing into the chair in front of my old partner's desk. The three of them were already talking and I hoped privately it was about the case and not me.

I made the copies my boyfriend needed, looking over the papers myself as I waited for each one to finish printing. Gathering together all the information I stopped at a coffee station in one of the rooms, making myself a tea, saying hellos to a few different officers I knew.

Having everything I needed I started to head back towards the homicide squad room. Allowing my thoughts to drift briefly to that morning and Jake and just how unbelievable wonderful he had been. I smiled softly to myself hoping if I cleared my head of all these memories now I would better be able to focus when I got back to work in a couple of minutes.

I was so consumed with my private thoughts I never heard anyone walking up behind me until arms wrapped around my waist. Swiftly pulling into a side hallway they lead down to the restrooms. Everything in my hands dropped forgotten to the floor, the tea spilling over the papers I had been carrying, my fist balling up as I gritted my teeth ready to slug whoever thought this was a funny joke.

"Little cop, I never thought I'd see you again." It was like every ounce of power I had bled out of me in seconds, the voice familiar, terrifying, it couldn't be him. Not here, not again. He threw me roughly into the wall, pressing his form against my back. He smelled of too much cologne and cigarettes. I whimpered.

"You're not gonna say hello to me after all this time sweet thing?" Dark hands, tattooed drifted up my arms caressing me. His mouth right next to my ear, I shivered violently as flashes of the past returned to me. Being held down, being laughed at. Heat so strong my body felt like it was going to burn up and men too many men all around me leering at me. I wanted to fight my capture off, but I simply couldn't free myself from the block of the fear the mental images of the past were causing me.

It was the same nightmare that had plagued me for years now, again and again night after night. I thought Jacob had finally, completely chased it away, but now reality was bringing it crashing back. "We never did get to finish what we started." Would he be stupid enough to actually try something in a police station? Why was he even here? I wanted my body and mind to work, but I felt like every muscle in my frame was made of jello.

"Jake…" I whimpered out the name of the only man that made me feel safe when I felt like this. The asshole holding me leaned closer.

"What in the fuck did you just call me?" Grabbing my face the shit head gangbanger attempted to twist me around, to force me to look him in the eyes. I squeezed my line of sight closed so tightly. I didn't want to see him, I didn't want remember.

A rush of noise, chaos and the weight of the man pressed against me was gone.

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><p><em>AN: Wow, it's been a long time since I have posted here and honestly I have to apologize because I really don't have any good reason. I started a new job and just got overwhelmed with life I suppose. Things have finally started to calm down for me and I really started to miss writing this story so I'm back. Hopefully all of you can forgive me and are still interested to see where this plot is going.<em>

_I promise I am going to try to update as much as I can! Especially with this next chapter since this one kind of left off on a cliff hanger *laughs* Anyway I have missed everyone here and am really looking forward to picking up conversations with all of you again! _


	15. Chapter 14

**JAKE**

I watched Lea as she walked away, the gentle sway of her hips, her scent still mingled with my own. I collapsed into the chair opposite of Chris's desk. It felt good to sit I had so many thoughts buzzing through my head. First and foremost the new information the police had gathered on the Shifter. Even just glancing at their maps I could see a couple areas that looked like good den locations. Central to his crimes and in sections that seemed like they could be good places to hide. Embry and I could transform and check everything out later, I had a feeling we were finally on a fresh trail.

Then Lea, this morning, a slow certainty that was started to blossom in our relationship; for the first time maybe ever I was starting to feel like someone would be there for me. That Lea wasn't going to suddenly change her mind. That I actually did mean as much to her as she did me. It was an odd realization, it was comforting and it was something I wanted to talk to her about. I had been scared to really define anything between us because I didn't want her to pull away from me because of it, but I was really starting to feel like she was "the one" as cliché and ridiculous as it made me feel to even think that.

"So you think you can make some sense out of the mess of all those maps Jacob?" Chris was giving me a considering look. I often felt the same way around him that I did when Lea's Grandparents had been staying with us, like he was judging me, both as a man and as Lea's choice of boyfriend. I sat up straighter and I put my best "Alpha Jake" face on. I wanted him to respect me. I exchanged looks with Em, he had a small half smile on his face, either at my posturing or the fact Chris seemed to doubt my abilities.

"I think I can. While this situation is obviously much more serious, it really isn't that much different then tracking a deer in the woods." My tone was firm, I watched Chris's brow rise.

"Just remember that deer won't try to tear your throat out if you find it." Embry looked up and away at Chris's comment. I think trying not to substitute in some remark in return. Bless Em he always had my back no matter what we were facing.

"Trust me Chris. I'm not that easy to take out." I tried to keep the proper amount of swagger in my voice, but suddenly something made me uneasy. Neither man sitting with me seemed to get the same feeling. Em was grinning at my remark and Chris himself was smiling.

"I would expect no less from any guy Lea chose." Chris's remark was lost to me. I heard it but it barely qualified in my mind. I licked my lips, expelling a deep breath. Inside my wolf stirred, whining conflicted. I shared his emotions, something wasn't right.

"You okay Jake?" Embry's form had gone ridged, but I think in response to mine. I didn't get the impression his wolf was upset for the same reason mine was. I didn't reply. I focused inward, my wolf pressing against the bounds of our boarders. He sent a ripple through my skin, but it wasn't of transformation, it was something else entirely. It was like he was sharing knowledge with me that he knew and I hadn't picked up on yet with my supernatural, yet still limited human senses.

"What's happening?" In the background I heard Chris and then I heard Embry's voice knowing he had replied, but I felt suddenly like it was just my wolf and I. Scents, more then I should logically be able to smell in my human shape hit me. It was like when I was transformed. My wolf pressed closer, the two of us almost sharing one shape, it reminded me of when Lea and I had been making love a few nights before and we had been so close while demanding her submission.

So many human's, some smells fresh some stale from days and even weeks before, coffee, old food, nervous body odor. We cataloged and pushed aside each unwanted stink. A whiff of fear, familiar, sharp, I now felt my ears straining along with my sense of smell. My wolf and I both whined low in our throats. A cry far away so faint that I could barely make it out, but then the scent, I finally focused in on it, finding it's fragrance among all of the others. Terror, Lea's terror; my imprint was in danger.

I knew two things only as jumped to my feet the large wooden chair roughly clattering to the floor below me. I needed to get to Lea immediately and as much as I wanted to I couldn't transform where I was. Voices behind me now both Chris and Embry were concerned, but I had tunnel vision. All I knew was the smell of fear and jogging across the squad room, drawing closer to where the scent was originating from I could more strongly feel the chaos of Lea's emotion. Inside my wolf was tumbling around, growling, ready to fight for our mate. We were still connected and it dawned on me as I ran the new closeness of our bond. He had known transformation was not an option, but he had known that we could work together as we often did while I was in wolf form. I felt a new power, a new control and I was ready to use against whatever was hurting the woman I loved.

I crossed to the hallway we had entered from in what felt like footsteps, thundering down towards the elevator and then beyond. I could hear soft cried now from my imprint and a harsh male voice I didn't know. A growl tore from my chest; anger hit me like a lighting blot. I would kill whoever was harming her. Turning down a narrow, smaller corridor Lea's panic hit me like a freight train. I gasped for air for a moment, my teeth bared, a cold knot forming at the sight that met my eyes.

Some man, his skin tone dark of negligible decedent was holding my mate, pressing her small form forcefully against the wall. His clothing and hair style spoke of some sort of street thug, but also of someone higher up in the food chain from the adornments he wore, gold chains, an expensive jacket. My eyes narrowed, trying to reason out why Lea wasn't fighting back, why she hadn't beat the living shit out of this asshole. She cried out my name softly, a tone of absolute defeat. A shiver of rage ran through me as the jackass holding her then grabbed her face.

I had never understood the analogue of a person "seeing red" until this moment. My fury hit me with such force it consumed my senses. I moved instinctively my feet slamming across the ground. The shit-head holding Lea, turned, his expression confused. I didn't even say I word. I just grabbed him not even certain what parts of his body I had and tossed his across the hallway area like he was a small paper toy.

He crashed into the wall across from us, crying out, landing in an unceremonious pile on the tile below. He was mildly dazed, lying on the floor slightly stupefied. I felt my body go into a natural crouch, my arms up and my hands in fists. My teeth still bared, I was somewhere between swearing at the asshole and growling. I wanted to pound his frame until his own family wouldn't know who he was when they looked at him, but I got distracted.

Lea upon finding her freedom crashed against my body. She buried her face in my chest, her hands so firmly grasping the front of my tee shirt I thought for a moment she might tear it off of me. Slowly my furious huffs of breath started to dwindle. My attention turned to the small shaking woman looking to me for comfort. I wasn't certain if I had ever scented anything like the complete despair that rolled off Lea at this moment. I could no longer focus on the asshole defeated across from us, all I could think to do was wrap my imprint in my powerful arms and hold her as tightly as I could without hurting her.

"Baby, what happened?" My tone and touch were both soft. I was hoping Lea would look up at me give me some kind of clue, but she just continued clinging to my warm body. What felt like hours had actually been mere moments and as I turned my attention to my imprint Embry came roaring up beside me, my Beta slide into a crouch himself, a growl leaving his own chest ready to fight to defend his friends if he had to. I think we were both surprised when Chris strode around us both. His emotions much more firmly in control then any of ours were.

Leaning over he grabbed the man on the floor that had attacked my girlfriend. Dragging him up by the front of his jacket and slammed him back into the wall. Using one forearm pressed against his throat to pin him there, Chris glared at the trapped thug. "You sorry sack of shit, I can't believe you would have the balls to **ever **come near her again." There was a deadly calm to his voice. Embry rose to his full stature again, watching surprised. I kissed the top of Lea's head, wishing she would look at me. Clueless about what was going on.

"Hey man! I want to file charges! I've been man handled here! Brutality!" The asshole's senses started to return to him and with that so did his smart ass words. Chris just pressed his arm tighter into his wind pipe and that swiftly choked off anything else he was about to say.

"Ramon, I knew Narcotics was using you for information, but even I didn't think you were fucking stupid enough to try to come near my partner again." Neither Chris's tone nor, posture had changed. His expression was taunting and deadly. "Jake?"

I was surprised when he said my name, not turning to look at me he continued to glare down this shit-head Ramon while waiting for me to answer. "Yeah?" I was hoping maybe he was going to clue Embry and I in onto what was currently happening.

"I'll take care of this asshole, can you get Lea out of here though, she doesn't need to see him again." I looked down at my imprint and back up at her old partner. I nodded, gesturing for Em that he was to follow me when I left.

"Sure Chris." Instead of trying to reason through the wall Lea seemed to have built around her emotions at the moment, I just swung the small woman up into my arms. She pushed her face against my shoulder now and I frowned at just how unlike herself my imprint was acting. "Will you be alright?" I wasn't really too concerned about Chris as he seemed more then capable of handling himself, but I felt like kind of an ass for just walking off and leaving him with a man that for all purposes I should have taken care of.

"I'll be fine; Ramon and I are just going to have a long talk about proper manners I think." Chris finally looked back at us and I watched his brow knit when he saw my expression. "You do know who this asshole is right Jake?" I got the immediate impression that this guy represented something serious, which obviously affected Lea deeply in a bad way. It hurt a little to admit I had no clue about it. Mutely I shook my head and I watched Chris sigh heavily.

"Go easy on her. You know how we all have that one skeleton in our closet that makes every other bad fuck up in our life seem like child's play. This is hers. Lea blamed herself for what happened to her for a long time." Chris's expression of concern told me that Lea's self loathing had not been warranted. I knew I had to handle this problem with far more tact then I'm usually capable of.

"Thank you." I turned having really nothing else to say at that moment, Embry in sync with me falling right into step at my side. Lea was still simply holding tightly to me. My tee shirt even now balled in her fists like she was holding on to me like I was her life line. No words were exchanged between my Beta and I. I saw a couple of faces turn to look at us as we exited, obviously drawn to the odd sight of me carrying my girlfriend out, but no one tried to stop us or even asked any questions.

The elevator doors shut and Embry pressed the ground floor button. Lea still hadn't moved. I could feel her breathing, the beating of her heart and I could scent emotions continuing to flood off her. She seemed trapped inside of her own nightmare. I had the feeling I could wake her out of it, but I needed to get to a more private and comfortable location before trying.

Embry and I left the building. He was just trailing me, allowing my decisions to set the pace. I was going to walk all the way to Central Park if I had to. I needed a place where I felt Lea would feel most comfortable and Becky's was too damn far away. The walk to the park actually didn't take as long as I thought it would and thanks to my supernatural strength I wasn't even winded by the time we got there. I followed the scents of people, until I found a small area that had been used but not as often as other parts of the park. Trees hung over head and dappled the two benches below them in sunlight. This was the type of place Lea would really like, it seemed fitting to bring her here.

I finally turned to Embry, I could see the concern in his eyes and I know mine had to silently echo it. "Would you mind going and getting a bottle of water?" For some reason it seemed sensible to me that Lea would need a drink. Embry glanced down at the form of the small woman I carried. I also thought us having a few moments alone might be a good idea.

"No problem Jake. I'll be back." Embry clasped my shoulder lightly before walking away. I nuzzled the hair of the woman in my arms, walking over to one of the benches and settled down on it, shifting Lea into my lap. I leaned back and I could finally see my imprint's face. It broke my heart; her eyes looked haunted and lost. My fearless girlfriend, who I felt could face anything, now looked so small and so scared. Her grip on me was still tight and for maybe the first time in our relationship I truly understood the depth in which she depended on me.

Words wouldn't solve our current dilemma, not when Lea was barely able to keep eye contact with me; but our relationship was more then that. Leaning forward I nuzzled her chin, asking politely for me to be allowed her exposed neck. She tilted her head without hesitation, her trust in me absolute. First I kissed her there, and then I just rested my face.

After a moment, hesitantly I felt Lea's face come to rest against my neck. It was a sign of submission on both our parts to the other; it was a closeness we would not share with anyone else. The wall of Lea's fear hit me through our imprint. My own rage at her pain swelled to a dangerous level. Neither I knew would be productive. I took a deep breath. I couldn't run off half kilter with my emotions at this moment, I needed to be the sensible one.

I flooded Lea with all my love, my desire to protect her, any positive emotion involving the two of us I could think of. I remember being so fucking lost when I had met my imprint and how she had somehow anchored me back to life, now I tried to return the favor.

First I felt the shiver of her body against mine, then slowly her hold on my shirt grew looser. Until finally her hands dropped, pushing under my arms to hold me in her own tight embrace and suddenly Lea began to cry. Usually this would upset me, but at this moment it was far healthier then the state she had just been in. Whatever barrier she had built up I had smashed it down. I pulled away kissing the side of her face, rubbing her back gently now making soothing noises. I had helped my imprint; I felt a sense of relief.

I let her tears fall for as long as they needed to. She started off sobbing but that eventually trickled down into a few hiccuping sniffles. I realized this was the first time Lea had really lost it in front of me. I would never want to see her this way, but I was glad she had allowed me to be there for her, instead of running away like she usually did.

My shoulder was wet from her tears by the time she stopped, Lea turned to look at me, her face blotted and red. Her eye lashes sticking together as she unceremoniously rubbed at her nose. She was beautiful and adorable and I loved her even more. "Are you alright Baby?" Lea nodded, coughing lightly, shaking her head.

"I feel like an idiot." I couldn't help the small smile that crossed my face. That sounded like my girlfriend. I lightly kissed her cheek.

"If you're an idiot then I must be a fucking lunatic after everything you went through for me." I nipped at her lower lip and my words and actions drew her own small grin to her face. She shook her head forcefully, I think disagreeing with my statement.

"Lea, Honey, do you want to talk about what happened?" I wouldn't force the issue, but it would make it easier for me to help her fight her demons if I had some idea just what we were actually facing. I watched my imprint's brow knit, she sighed heavily looking back at the tree line behind us for a moment. I got the impression she was categorizing her thoughts more then she didn't wish to speak.

Before Lea could begin, Embry's slow gait rounded the corner to our sitting area. My Beta paused looking at both of us with question. He had the water I had requested, but now I think he was trying to decide if he should bring it or leave again. "Please sit down with us Embry." My gaze shifted back to Lea surprised when she spoke. "After seeing what state I was in, I would like you to know the reason why also."

Embry nodded his reply, crossing quietly to sit in the second bench. I could see the concern in his eyes as he looked at my girlfriend. It was good she was speaking again, but from her appearance one could easily see she had been crying. My Beta smiled softly at my imprint, extending his hand with the water to her. "This should help clear your throat." Lea's expression became warm and grateful. She accepted the drink and unscrewing the top took a long shallow before she began talking again.

Lea shifted around still in my lap, twisting a little to better be able to converse with both Embry and I at the same time. She bit her lip, coughing lightly before with another deep breath I could see her willing herself to begin. "It was my very first night on the job after graduating the academy. I had been one of the top graduates and I was feeling excited and probably too full of myself. My training officer was an awesome lady, she retired last year, but she was seriously one of the smartest cops I've ever met. The night was going great, all of my schooling was clicking, I was doing really well when we got a call. A warrant suspect had been spotted, we were supposed to go check out the area and see if we could find him."

Lea took another small sip of water, her eyes glancing for a moment up to me. I leaned forward to kiss her temple. "We arrived on the scene; everything on the street seemed quiet. There were only a few people around so we started asking them if they had seen the suspect. One guy was pretty certain he had seen him and bunch of others hanging out in front of a boarded up house. My training officer and I go to check it out and she heads back to the car to call for back up. I hear something inside, so being a complete idiot I start to wander alone around the perimeter of the building."

The fear returns to Lea's scent. I raise one hand, slowly twining her small fingers into mine, holding her hand tightly. Lea smiles weakly at me. "I don't know if I was just at the wrong place, at the wrong time or if the guys had been planning it, but right after I checked a side door which had been locked and walked past, it flew open. Two guys grabbed me, dragging me into the house. I really don't know if they had thought I was alone, or just saw this as an opportunity to humiliate a police officer, but they threw me to the floor and pinned me. Once inside I realized to my horror there were five guys, one of which was the jerk we were looking for which didn't help me much now."

Lea licked her lips her expression intense as she continued. I wasn't certain if I was breathing, what she was telling me, bile started to rise into my throat. "Two were holding me down, another grabbed my weapon and the other two started to tear at my clothes." Lea was hugging herself now and I could scent the pain the memory was bringing her. "It all happened so fast, all the men were laughing and saying nasty things to me and I was so hot. I felt like suddenly I was running a fever and the air was sticky and I couldn't breathe. The front of my shirt was open when there was a gigantic crash behind us. Chris came charging into the room like an angry bear. He and his partner at the time had been right down the road from me and my training officer, she had flipped out when I disappeared and Chris had seen the light under the door and busted in."

"He was throwing guys left and right. My gun went off in the insanity and thankfully no one was hit. My training officer managed to get me up and out of the room. Ramon was one of the guys that had pinned me down. They were all arrested, but Ramon had ties with big peoples. Ones he wasn't above turning on to save his own ass. He became an informant and he knew so much that I couldn't hold it against the force for wanting to use his information and keeping him out of jail. All the other guys went away for various different things. I will always remember Chris coming through that door that night and afterwards I went to thank him and we became really good friends. When I finally got out of training, he would never admit it but I think he pulled strings so we could be partners and he could keep an eye on me."

"I'm eternally grateful that I wasn't actually assaulted or raped, but I was pretty messed up after the whole thing. I really blamed myself, for stupidly walking into the trap and for not being strong enough to take care of myself. I went to counseling and that helped a lot, but I still had nightmares. Everything from that night all the emotions were so intense. I would wake up terrified, but even those had pretty much completely gone Jake, since I met you. I just can't believe Ramon would even approach me again." Lea leaned back against my shoulder. I felt almost like I had been punched squarely in the stomach. My mind couldn't even fathom how horrifying this must have been for Lea to face.

"You realized it wasn't your fault right?" I glanced up surprised at the conviction in Embry's voice as he asked the question and I realized the story had affected him too. Lea looked down studying the lines of my hand as it still held hers tightly. My expression became curious; because I didn't want to believe she could still think what had happened had been because of her.

"Mostly yes, but it's hard. Logically I know it was those assholes that did this to me. It was their choice to hurt me and to make me a victim, most of the time I can convince myself of these facts, but sometimes especially after I wake up from one of my nightmares I get such an overwhelming sense of guilt. It doesn't even make sense. I wish I could go back in time and change what happened. I wish I could stop thinking I should have done more, when in reality the men attacking me should never have touched me that night." I marveled at a side of Lea I had never seen. To me she had always been so completely self reliant, I had been certain she didn't actually need me. Yet at this moment, a part of me felt like I was the only one that could protect her.

"What is it you always tell me Baby? Everything you did that night you did with only good intentions. Maybe all of your choices weren't the smartest ones you could have made but you chose them with a good heart. You didn't do anything wrong and from now on whenever you have one of these nightmares I want you wake me up and I'll tell you that over and over again until you believe it." I touched her cheek lightly with my hand not holding hers. Her eyes closing, she nuzzled against my fingers; I could feel a light tremble to her frame.

"Not just Jake, Lea, all of us." We both turned back to my Beta as he spoke up again. "You may not transform but that doesn't make you any less a member of our pack then any one of us. Your pain is all of our pain; none of us ever have to suffer alone." Embry's words were poetic, but a dark flash of hurt in his eyes confused me. Lea seemed at this moment not to notice; with everything running through her mind currently I really couldn't blame her.

"I love all of you. I'm a better person because I'm with you guys." Lea turned away from Embry to stare directly at me, her expression so serious, her eyes still puffy from her tears. "I know I always tell you how much you mean to me Jake, but I hope this really helps you realize just how true my words are. You remind me constantly everything I did for you, well now you truly know the depth of what you did for me."

I pulled her body to me, embracing her tightly as she rested her head on my shoulder again. Emotions coursing through me, for so many years of my life I had felt unwanted, by almost everyone; always second best, always feeling like I was finishing last. Now it was almost like I was a completely different man. I knew now that the people around me admired me and cared about me and most of all I knew I had a woman that loved me for just who I was and I finally really realized what I meant to her. I nuzzled the side of her head.

'Are you going to be alright?" My concern for Lea finally over weighted my thoughts about my own life. As fulfilling as my own revelation was if my imprint was going to continue to be unhappy it wouldn't matter. Embry had been right, if one of us hurts, we all do.

"After some dinner and a full night's sleep, most likely yes." The haunted look that had been in Lea's eyes since seeing Ramon was starting to fade, her usual inner power replacing it. I admired my girlfriend greatly for her courage.

"Well then hopefully Jake with allow you to get a full nights sleep." Embry's tone was coy, with a mischievous grin on his face, one I hadn't seen there in quite some time I realized. Lea's head raised and she blinked at my Beta for a moment before she burst out laughing, after everything that had happened in the last few hours the sound was almost magical to me.

"Embry I can't believe you would imply that Jake would not have my best interests in mind!" Lea's tone was teasing now too. I felt my brow raise as I looked at my girl friend and my best friend.

"Yeah you guys are really funny. Make me look like an idiot in order to cheer everyone up." I tried to look stern, to frown, but leaning forward Lea lightly brushed her lips against mine and it brought a smile back to my face.

"Thank you, both of you so much. I actually feel a lot better then I thought I could." I huffed as talking Lea slid from my lap and to the bench next to me.

"You know how you can best thank us?" Embry's expression was still playful, I grinned figuring I knew where he was going with this.

"Steak?" My girlfriend as brilliant as she was beautiful.

"Well I was just going to suggest burgers but steak is way better!" Embry waggled his brows at both of us. I couldn't stop my own laugh.

"Why don't we head back to the house, we can pick up food along the way." I stood and offered Lea my hand. She smiled up and me, excepting the offer. Embry rose as I pulled her up, shaking his head at both of us chuckling as he started to walk away. I paused looking deeply into my imprints eyes, feeling certain the chaos she had been stuck in just a short time ago was starting to level off. I pulled Lea into a deep kiss, her body molding against my own.

I knew this wasn't over, but I also felt with a certainty that we could deal with this issue together.

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><p><em>AN: I don't know if anyone has been curious about the "tragic event" in Lea's past that I have hinted to since <strong>MoonDance<strong> but this answers what it was. *laughs* Trying to keep up my writing! Glad people seemed to be happy I was back around and hope all of you are still enjoying this piece!_

_**twin268**, **SUPAfast JeLLyFisH** and **1sweetmoment**_ _thanks so much for the reviews! Reviews mean so much to me, your opinions and thoughts really keep me writing! Also thanks to all the new favorites and follows I have_ _gotten! _


	16. Chapter 15

**EMBRY**

Becky knew something had happened the moment we all walked in the door of her house. We met her as the three of us moved towards the living room, Jake in the lead holding Lea's hand and myself trailing slightly behind. Becky had been all smiles until she looked her friend in the face. Lea hadn't hesitated to tell Becky what had happened, which told me that she knew about the whole incident prior, but considering the two of them had I think been living together when it happened that didn't really surprise me.

Still I personally couldn't imagine. I mean I thought my life was shitty at times, but at least I didn't have an attack like Lea had buried in my thoughts. Sometimes it took looking at what has happened to others to really put your own life in perspective. Lea had suffered such a great injustice and yet she didn't seem to dwell on it, or let it run her life. Maybe I was making too big of a deal out of my own issues. Maybe I really was just holding myself back.

I didn't want to think about my own problems that much. I could tell after the shock at the station everyone was trying to keep the mood for the evening light. Jake and Lea had made dinner. I could clearly see my Alpha was having trouble letting his girlfriend out of his sight. Jake had impressed me with just how clear of a head he had kept throughout the whole situation. It once again displayed to me just how much my stubborn and impetuous friend had changed. I had never really though of Jake as gentle, until I watched how he dealt with Lea while she had been in such a fragile state.

Becky had drilled me for details while we waited for the food. There really wasn't too much more I could tell her past what Lea had already shared. Becky confided in me that she was shocked her friend was handling everything so well. That after the attack had happened Lea had been messed up for a long time. Becky credited it to Jake and while I knew a lot of it was, I also strongly felt it was our entire pack. Talking to Lea today in the park, trying to reassure her I had felt my wolf. His agreement, his pleasure at my choice of words and I realized how true it was. Our pack bond only recently had really started to feel strong and I could clearly see now that the better it got the more at ease I felt.

After dinner, we had all watched some stupid comedy movie on television together. The type Jake and I used to sneak into with Quil before we turned eighteen. Then Lea had wanted to go to bed. After her day I couldn't blame her. Jake went upstairs with her, Becky and I talked for a little while. I had so much swimming around in my mind that I wished I could share with someone. Now I remembered why I hated secrets to much. Seeing I was a little distant Becky had excused herself to read for a while, I think tactfully leaving me with my own thoughts.

I'd wandered up to the roof and now I was studying the sky, thinking how naked it looked without being able to see the stars. So many things were bubbling around in my brain. My paternity, the measures I was taking to find out about it. My pack and what it really meant that I was lying to my Alpha about something so important to both of us. I could once again feel my wolf's displeasure. I felt like he was trying to impart something on me but I wasn't ready to listen yet. I sighed heavily, leaning forward my face lifting when I heard then scented Jake thumping up the stairs.

My Alpha strode onto the porch, pausing to give me a weak smile. I could see everything today had taken out of him also. "I'm surprised to see you up here?" I turned at Jake's approach, flopping back into one of the porch chairs giving my friend a questioning look. Jake paused, glancing back down behind him.

"She's sleeping. Right now more then anything I really think Lea just needs a little rest and I have something I need to do." Jake pulled both his phone and Lea's out of his pocket. I felt my brow cock at him.

"Are you doing what I think you are Jake?" The only reason Jake would need his girlfriend's phone would be because she has Chris's number and he doesn't. He could be calling to tell the cop, Lea was alright, but that seemed way too simple for the expression on Jake's face.

"I can't just let this go Em! I mean could you? Knowing that not only had this guy hurt the person you loved most in probably all of the world, but that he was never punished for it and seems to want to flaunt that fact?" I was unsurprised by the volatile growl that left Jake's chest and admitted to myself that in his shoes I would probably feel much the same way.

"While I completely understand what you're feeling Jake, you're also walking a fine line here. He's just some asshole human punk. Not a leech and not even another shifter, I don't want you to do something you regret." I kept my tone nonjudgmental, not wanting to turn Jake's hostile feelings towards me.

"As easy as it would be, death is too good for this shit head. I want to terrify him. I want him looking over his shoulder for years to come wondering if he's safe, having nightmares about the monsters that chase him. I want his first instinct if he ever sees Lea again to be to run the fuck away from her as fast as he can. I want him to feel a small taste of what he gave my imprint." Jake had crossed and collapsed into the chair opposite mine while spelling out his plan. I still couldn't say logically it was a completely sound idea, but inside of me my own wolf yearned for revenge for the wrong done to his pack mate. I couldn't imagine how heavily this was weighting on Jake considering Lea was his imprint.

"I don't blame you Jake, nor will I try to stop you. I just want to present all the facts to you." I felt it was my duty, as much as I wouldn't hesitate to go with my Alpha to scare the shit out of the asshole if he wanted me to. Jake let out a long, deep sigh, sitting the phones in his lap for a moment to rub at his eyes. "Jake can I ask you a question?" My friend's gaze rose to consider me. Many things had surprised me this day, but there was one part of the incident I couldn't quite wrap my mind around.

"You have that look in your eyes Em like you're trying to figure something out?" Jake shifted the phones to the table next to his seat; leaning back I could see allowing his form to relax for a few moments. My brows knit and I scratched at the back of my head, this seemed like an unimportant time to be asking questions, but in the same token Jake seemed to be welcoming a distraction for a moment.

"How did you know Lea was in trouble? I've been running it through my mind again and again. The distance between our seats and were she was even with heighten senses you couldn't have smelled or heard her. Was it something to do with your imprint?" Once everything had been said and done and Lea was recovering alright my mind had been boggled by what I had observed that afternoon and I wondered if it had something to do with the bond between Jake and Lea that he had known she was in trouble.

"Maybe it had something to do with our imprint, I can't really tell you but no it wasn't like because of it I could magically just tell Lea was in danger. It actually was my wolf who knew." I felt my brow rise at Jake's words and he mutely nodded his head at my silent question before, with a thoughtful look my Alpha continued. "Now I've never claimed to be the thinker of our group; I've always been more of the kind of guy that acts first and digests my actions later. I run a lot more on instinct then tactical thought, but I'm pretty certain I've discovered something about our abilities that no one else I know of in our pack has realized yet." Jake's tone was even and certain. I felt myself lean forward, my arms resting on my knees, my curiosity building.

"When we're shifted and in our wolf form, we work in a perfect harmony with the wolf inside of us. You have to admit there is a strength and freedom in that, a cooperative feeling that you're not alone; that together you're both powerful and intelligent and able to handle almost anything. It's the reason we feel more secure being in our wolf form around the Cullen's. I think it's part of the reason we shift when our emotions would get to much for us to handle." Jake was leaning back in his seat, his words captivating me.

"Yet what do we do when we are in our human form? We push the wolf away, we force him as deep down within ourselves as we can, convinced that to let him to the surface would be stupid. The wolf is a monster, it makes us a monster." Jake's look had become hard and I blinked. Realizing how true his words were, just how much each of us had at one point of another hated the fact we had the ability to transform.

"What if everything about the way we're thinking is wrong? Really open yourself up to the wolf inside of you. Does he want to do terrible things? Is he an asshole? No, most of the time he actually is pretty close to whatever you're thinking, or sometimes he actually wants you to do something better then your own stupid fucked up choice." I felt myself bristle and for a moment I wondered if Jake knew my secret. If somehow he could sense the disappointment my own wolf felt in my current choices, but I carefully watched my Alpha's expressions and realized he was speaking in a very general way and that while hitting completely on the mark his comments were not currently aimed solely at me.

"So what are you saying Jake?" I wanted the point made, before my expression gave away all the sudden guilt I was feeling.

"Lately I've been trying not to push my wolf away so much. In fact I've been working with him. I realized that we could share almost the same bond in my human form that we do in my wolf. That we really are a team, that his ideals and mine are almost the same. That when I forget my old prejudice against what I am and really just allow myself to open up to my actual power, that I can do things I didn't realize were possible. I did scent Lea's fear today in the station, because I joined with my wolf and together he made my senses more like in my transformed state then in my human state and it feels right Em. I'll be honest with you; I don't think we were ever meant to just be regular humans; because I feel strongest when I don't try to deny what I actually am." Jake's expression had serenity to it I hadn't even realized was new there. I felt the canine whine leave my throat before I could stop it.

"Wow." My own emotions jumbled around inside of me. I wish I could have said something more intelligent, but really Jake had just stated something that probably should have been so obvious, but it may also have been something all of us were not willing to admit to ourselves. We'd all continued to almost desperately hang onto the desire that we could be normal still, but what if what was usual for everyone else wasn't for us. Did that makes us wrong or just different.

"I know, I'm still of two minds honestly about how I feel regarding all of this and once Lea is in a better place I want to talk to her about it. Get her opinion about everything. Yet being here right now, tracking this fuck face shifter or hunting any of the leeches we have over the years. It isn't our power that's bad, it's the way any of us would use it and I would like to think we're all good guys and we want to use it in ways that really help other people." Jake held my gaze, conviction in his expression.

"Well you've certainly given me a lot more to think about then I thought I was going to get out of this conversation." I figured Jake was just going to give me some bullshit line about imprinting and we would move on from this topic, but now I could see instead this whole situation could really be a turning point for how we as a pack functioned and really how we all felt about ourselves.

"That's why I wanted to tell you Em, because I knew you would look at this from a much more intellectual stand point then me." A ghost of a smile spread across my Alpha's face. "Now I need to take care of my phone call." Jake reached back to the table, grabbing both the phones. I watched him fiddle with Lea's for a moment until he found Chris's number and then punched it into his own phone and called the cop. Standing Jake left Lea's phone on the table next to where he had been sitting, crossing the porch to look out at the city while he spoke.

I heard Jake exchange greetings with Chris and start telling him about how Lea was doing. As the two spoke my own thoughts turned inwards. Everything Jake had just shared with me buzzing around inside my head. It had taken all of us years but we had finally come to accept what we were, our job to protect the tribe and our land from any threat but especially vampires. Still all of us in the original pack, we had negative feelings about what had been thrust upon us. Each in our own way wished we could have just been regular guys with normal everyday problems. Lately though since Jake had become Alpha, since a lot of the turmoil within our ranks had started to settle down I noticed those feelings were not as prevalent.

Now this, the idea we could bond so closely with our wolves, that instead of tolerating them we would instead actually share who we are with them. It did have an appeal. It dawned on me that fighting the wolf was a lot like hating a part of yourself and could you ever completely feel right without being able to accept who you are with no reservations? Tentatively I reached out to my own wolf. I felt the barrier I general pushed him behind and I felt him connect to me. Clearness, calmness, fell over me. A wolf didn't worry about the mountain of bullshit that a man did. Were his pack mates safe and his belly full? Then a wolf was happy.

I looked up at my Alpha carefully making plans across the porch from me and I felt duty and pride. I leapt slightly my connection with my wolf broken as my own phone buzzed in my pocket. Jumping around telling me I'd gotten a text message. I pulled my cell out, glancing at the screen and feeling heaviness over take me again. It was from Harry Kim, asking me if I could talk right now because he had the test set up if I was ready for it.

Inside it was almost like I could feel my wolf snap. Lies within the pack shouldn't happen and hiding something from my Alpha was a cardinal sin. I frowned roughly shoving my phone back into my pocket. Except I wasn't a wolf and I couldn't just sit around only thinking about our next hunt. I was a man and I had a lot of shit from my life that I needed to work out. Maybe then I could start to decide how I wanted to deal with who I was.

Glancing back up seeing Jake still talking, his attention completely focused on Chris, I slipped back down the stairs. I paused once reaching the living room and just listened. Lea had to be sleeping because I heard nothing above and Becky seemed to be in her office room down the hallway because I could hear her shuffling around a little.

Feeling pretty secure about having some alone time I moved towards the kitchen. Once inside with the doors shut, I dialed Kim's number into my cell. It only rang twice before he picked up. "Hello Embry. I was starting to think maybe you had changed your mind." I could hear hope in his voice and I got the impression Harry still wasn't completely convinced this was a good idea.

"Hey, no, this is too important to me to quit now that I can finally get answers to my questions." I leaned back against the kitchen counter, right hand holding my phone to my ear, my left hand in the pocket of my jeans.

"Well I got an appointment set up for you. It's a friend of mine at one of the private paternity labs in the city. If you want to meet up with me tomorrow morning, I could get the stuff I need from you and get the gears in motion." I considered what Kim was telling me and figuring Jake was probably going to be busy with his own project he was setting up, I thought tomorrow morning might be perfect.

"Where do you want to meet?" I was excited about the idea of finally just getting this over with.

"I'll text you the address of a diner that's by my apartment, we can meet there at seven in the morning if that's alright, I usually have breakfast there anyway before work." That sounded reasonable and at least if anyone asked I could say I just needed some time alone and grabbed something to eat while on a walk.

"That sounds perfect and I'll bring Jake's toothbrush?" I knew I needed something for a sample of my friend's DNA. At the super market earlier I'd picked up a new toothbrush. Pretending it was for me, but really I was just going to switch it with the one Jake had in his bathroom travel case upstairs.

"I'll bring a swab container to get a sample from you. See you tomorrow Embry." Kim hesitated like he hoped one last time that maybe I would change my mind. Only I felt even more convicted now that everything was in motion.

"Sounds good Harry, thank you again!" I hung up the phone and after a few moments it buzzed for a second time with an address. I saved the text and sighed deeply. Knowing that tomorrow was going to be a big day for me. I grabbed a glass from behind me and crossed to the fridge to get a drink when the door swung open to my side. Becky walked in, a sleepy expression on her face. I breathed deeply, Becky always smelled of woman and books to me. It was an odd and enticing combination.

"I didn't know anyone was still awake." Becky paused in the doorway first looking surprised until a pleased expression at seeing me crossed her face. All my questions from the last hour or so melted away and I simply enjoyed the feeling of calm her happiness brought me.

"Jake's on the roof too, I think stirring up trouble." I grinned at the smaller woman, watching the flush of color first enter her face then her body and finally the beginning hints of the scent of her desire. I could still recall the taste of her kiss from the day before.

"What do you mean?" Confusion in her tone, I moved closer to her. Was is me, was it my wolf or maybe both of us. Suddenly I really wanted to touch the warm soft body of this woman who so freely admired everything about me. I usually wasn't that bold but I was starting to really feel comfortable with Becky and it was making me less apprehensive about myself around her.

"Jake, no really none of us take someone hurting a member of our group lightly." It dawned on me I'd completely forgotten my drink behind me on the counter. Oddly enough now I didn't really care about it anymore. Becky was watching me with curious eyes. She was a brilliant woman that often hid her thoughts behind a quiet exterior. At the book store that morning we had some of the best conversations I may have ever had in my life. We shared so many of the same interests it was refreshing and easy and so unlike anything I've ever experienced with a member of the opposite sex before.

"The bond all of your have, it's really remarkable. Sometimes I think I get a little jealous." Becky flushed again and moved past me like she didn't want to face her confession she had just made. She crossed to her sink looking out the window into the dark. I froze, brows knit surprised by her words.

"You're a part of it too in a way, I hope you realize." I watched her turn to give me a considering look as I started to speak. "You're one of the most important people in Lea's life and she is the most important person in Jake's life and that makes you important to him too." I cleared my throat, feeling color rise to my own face, "You're also special to me you know." I had to force myself to make eye contact. I was embarrassed and suddenly felt stupid and young. I should be able to express myself without turning into a shy idiot.

Becky's expression became one of wonderment. She stared at me wide eyed for a few long moments. It was odd, for all the problems plaguing me in the last few hours, they all seemed to disappear at least for the time with this new situation confronting me. I was a fool and should have spoken to Becky earlier instead of pushing her away like I had. I realized I was starting to fidget as she didn't reply to my confession.

"Anyway I should probably get my drink and go to bed." I didn't want to stand here gawking back and forth any more. It was making me start to think that maybe I'd in fact read the woman standing across from myself, feelings completely wrong. I took a few steps across the tile of the floor.

"You're the most incredible man I've ever met." I paused, my face lifting once again to Becky as she blurted out her reply to me suddenly. I think I must have looked a little shocked because she schooled herself down a notch taking a deep breath. "I wasn't really sure what to make of our kiss yesterday, if you were interested or not. Then today at the book store it was magical but we barely touched at all and I was starting to think maybe you liked me more as a friend and I wasn't certain what to do."

Becky was talking, but I only half heard. I crossed the distance between us in two long strides. Grabbing the smaller woman and pulling her against me hard. I kissed her again, every emotion from that day running out of me, her small, warm body submitting to my larger frame. Her arms raised and her fingers twisting in my hair. I deepened the kiss teasing her tongue with my own. I could feel the tightening of my cock and the rush of my wolf as he encouraged me.

I could feel the growl rumble in my chest, the unexpected intensity of my desires. I wasn't certain if I should hamper them or allow them free access. I wanted the woman in my arms so badly; maybe worst then I'd physically ever wanted anyone before. It was not only an aching need in my groin, but also in my heart. I was lonely and Becky represented so many avenues of understanding that had never been presented to me.

I pulled away from Becky suddenly breathing hard, a look of confusion and guilt on my face. "I'm sorry." I couldn't make eye contact, I felt like I was suddenly drowning in a sea of emotions. Overwhelmed and confused and my wolf was not helping. Furious with me for denying his claim to the woman we had been holding. I swallowed hard, I felt like if I could just clear my mind things would make more sense.

"Embry?" My gaze lifted, surprised when Becky's tone contained only concern for me. I figured she would be angry at me for pushing her away; instead she just seemed to want to help me even more. I let out a long breath, gesturing towards her table for a moment, asking her to sit with me. There was no hesitation on her part and as we both took our seats beside one another, she reached out and lightly stroked my face with her fingers.

My eyes closed and I leaned into the touch finding solace in the fact someone who had known me for such a short time could so wordlessly know what I wanted. "What's wrong?" She wasn't pushing me, or demanding the information like my mother might at times. Becky was simply giving me an opening if I wanted to take it.

"My life is really messed up right now and I don't know what to do." That was the overview of my problems, I didn't know if I felt the correct level of trust quite yet to tell her more then that.

"Do you want to talk about it?" My eyes flickered open, holding on hers, feeling the safety in her touch.

"Honestly I don't know if I'm ready to yet. I might be doing something that could finally answer almost every question I've had about my life or I might be making the biggest mistake I ever have. Either way I don't want to get you mixed up in it." The look on her face at my words pained me a little. She tried to appear brave, but I could see me not being able to open up to her hurt her. I just grew more aggravated with myself.

"Well you do what you need to Embry, but I want you to know if you need anyone I'm always more then willing to talk to you, or listen." The calm started to return between us. My flare of emotions subsided. I leaned forward I think taking Becky off guard as I lightly kissed her lips again.

"You don't know how much that means to me, how much you're growing to mean to me." The affection in her gaze warmed my heart. I wanted to finish my business with Harry, I wanted to finally get a grasp on my past because I was starting to look more closely at my future and what I wanted out of it. Maybe everything wasn't as bleak as I had always deemed it to be for me. Maybe Jake wasn't the only person who had given up too soon and who had chosen to hide from their problems versus facing them head on. Maybe all I needed was a push in the right direction myself.

"You're an enigma to me Embry. Most of the time I don't understand you and I'm not certain what you want from me, but I certainly enjoy every moment we spend together. I'm willing to wait for you to be ready, if that's what you want." Becky was running her fingers through the side of my hair, I sighed deeply. Even the wolf inside of me was placated by her touch.

"You're an amazing woman Becky, absolutely extraordinary" My heart felt full as I leaned forward, ready to once again seize her mouth with my own. Only just as our lips brushed one another the door to the kitchen burst open again and Jake came stomped inside. There was an awkward pause. I turned to glare at my friend for his interruption and Jake for his part stood looking a little embarrassed at having obviously walked in on a tender moment.

"Sorry." Jake cleared his throat flashing both of us a grin. My expression was unamused but Becky let out a soft laugh. "I just wanted to tell you that everything is set and I won't be around in the morning if the two of you won't mind keeping an eye on Lea?" I sighed knowing that my Alpha needed me right now and that it was important so I pushed my annoyance aside.

"Do you need any help?" Jake and I exchanged looks, me silently asking him if he was planning anything crazy. My friend gave me a pointed look back telling me that he had everything under control.

"No I know what I'm doing. I just don't want Lea to wake up and be upset I'm not here." Both of us turned as Becky let out a short snort of a laugh looking at my friend.

"I know Lea has gone through a lot Jake, but she's not exactly a damsel in distress. I think she can handle herself pretty effectively if she needs to." Becky's brow was raised and I bit back a chuckle as she called my friend on the posturing macho side of his bullshit. Jake's eye narrowed as I watched his expression become a frown.

"I just don't want her to be in distress." His tone was flat, Becky held her ground with him, and it made me smile.

"I understand and I respect you greatly for your love of my friend, but I would certainly never let her fall apart because you're not here." Jake shifted from foot to foot. I could see biting back his remark. I let Becky lecture him a little; it was good for him I thought.

"Well, thanks. I'm going to grab a few hours sleep." Jake huffed as he turned to retreat to the room him and Lea were sharing. I watched him go, turning as Becky let out another light laugh. I looked at her in question.

"Sometimes it amuses me how completely perfect for my friend Jacob is. She really needs someone to challenge her to keep her happy." Becky expression was once again tender, I could see pleased for Lea and the fact she was in such a good place now. Reaching across the table, I tentatively took Becky's hand. I had so many things I wanted to say, about how I felt about her and how well it seemed to me the two of us fit together. Yet abruptly I couldn't find the words.

It was almost like she could read my confusion. Leaning between us, Becky lightly kissed me again. "We should probably get to bed too. I think all of us have big days tomorrow and I should get up early in case we have an emergency when Jake's not around." The playful smile on Becky face brought one to my own.

"That sounds like a good plan." We stood, before I could stop myself I reached out grasping Becky's hand. "Thank you for understanding." The smaller woman smiled up and gave me a slight nod.

"Like I said Embry, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask."

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><p><em>AN: Sorry for the slightly longer wait between these chapters. Summer is keeping me busy but I'm trying to keep up my schedule of getting a little writing done every evening. <strong>No reviews last chapter. <strong>I hope it was alright and everyone liked it. It makes me a little nervous that maybe my approach to the story isn't appealing to you guys! I did get some new favorites and follows so thank you all for those!_

_This chapter touches a little on how I am trying to develop the characters relationships with the wolves inside them. Interested to see what people think about this?_

_Also if anyone here has one I started a Tumblr that I will be posting my stories on: I mention it here because I figure I will also be throwing up graphics I make and things or if you just want another way to contact me for any reason you can through there! Thanks for reading!_


	17. Chapter 16

**JAKE**

I just laid there watching Lea sleep. I should be trying to rest myself; fuck knows I have a lot to do in a few hours. I just can't take my eyes off my imprint. Every once in a while she stirs softly and I can't help but kiss her lightly whenever she does. Her small body curled tightly against my own, I'd been afraid she might have nightmares; but so far Lea had seemed pretty peaceful. I would even hazard to say content.

I knew I had done this for her. Usually I would hesitate to actually take credit for something this meaningful instead believing I would just mess it up, but I could tell. The fact I'd saved someone that was so precious to me from so much pain made me feel good about myself. Jacob Black wasn't an eternal fuck up, he was a good guy.

Lea tossed around a little in her sleep and reaching out I smoothed her hair out of her face, my mind drifting to my mission for that morning and back to my telephone conversation with Chris. To say he was still pissed off when I'd gotten a hold of him would have been putting it mildly. I got the impression that not only had Ramon faced his wrath after our exit, but also the vice cops that had left that asshole wandering around the station.

I had filled him in on how Lea was doing and echoing Becky's reaction from earlier Chris had been surprised that my imprint was doing as well as she was. I got the very certain impression how much the attack had messed my girlfriend up. It explained a few things to me about her. Lea's need to be in control of her actions almost all the time and how critical she could be of herself over small mistakes.

I don't know what I hated more the fact the woman I loved had been victimized like she had or the fact she still blamed herself in some way for it; still knowing our connection, that our closeness in the park had helped Lea find her own strength faster made me happy. It was hard for me to express to Chris why Lea was handling her fears better this time, but I think he knew it was me, that I would do anything for my imprint. So he really didn't push the issue too far for details.

After I'd convinced Chris that Lea was alright I'd broached the other topic I'd been interested in. I wanted to know how I could find Ramon. The cop had been silent for a few long moments and I thought he wasn't going to tell me, which would make my job harder but still not impossible. Not when I had the senses of a wolf.

Chris had understood my need to teach the asshole a lesson though. He had only asked me once if I planned to hurt him, because he couldn't protect me if things went wrong. I was firm, I just wanted to scare the shit head and that was true. The last thing I would want to do is end up in jail and away from my girlfriend because of some waste of space asshole. Much like I had told Embry I just wanted to make it clear to Ramon that he should _never _even think about approaching my imprint again.

Chris informed me that Ramon had been thrown into lock up over night to cool his heels after the attack and that if _anyone _was looking for him they should be at the station first thing in the morning when they would toss him out. I growled lightly to myself, feeling my frame tense at the impending hunt. Inside I could feel my wolf twist around. Lea made a soft noise, maybe because of me and both of our attentions were immediately drawn back to her.

I felt the soft smile curl onto my lips. Here next to me in bed, Lea looked so tiny and frail and feminine. Yet I knew if someone was to threaten me or any of our pack, she would fill with an eternal fire and even for her size could become quite domineering. I still wasn't certain how I had gotten so lucky to find someone so perfect for me, but probably for the first time I also really believed I deserved that kind of happiness. That I was as good and strong of an individual as Lea always told me I was.

I breathed in my imprints scent, it relaxed me as my eyes slowly started to droop, my wolf feeling the same calm inside of me. We still had a lot to accomplish here in the city and the time we had to do it was growing shorter, when I got home though I had a lot of thinking to do. My eyes half drifted open, sparing one last look at Lea's face. Not just about all the changes I'd been discussing with Embry earlier, but also about my next step.

I was truly growing into my role as Alpha; even my wolf could feel it. I felt with some more work we could function even better as a unit and that I would be more effective to my pack. I knew as I grew into that role and truly became comfortable with it I would start looking at the other parts of my life and what I wanted to accomplish with them.

I nuzzled my face against my imprint, for the first time in the long time really feeling the need and the confidence in my situation to want to settle down. Once upon a time I had grandiose plans for my life with Bella. This had of course been before I started shape shifting and before I realized that no matter how hard I tried she was never going to love me as much as she did the leech.

My illusions had shattered and then for years I had always just kind of figured I would end up alone. Self disgust and pity had made me believe I wasn't worthy of anyone really loving me. Everything had changed and not just the way I thought about others but also myself. My body wrapped protectively around the woman I loved and my wolf peaceful and silent connected to me I finally drifted off to some much needed rest.

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><p>My eyes opened just as the sky started to tint pink with the rising of the sun. I'd only rested for a couple of hours but it was enough. With all the patrol's we ran and odd sleep schedules we ended up keeping I could function with very little slumber.<p>

Lea was still dozing lightly at my side, I could hear her steady, even breathing. Leaning forward I gently kissed her cheek good morning. She stirred slightly, making a soft noise and I smiled. It was hard to pull myself away from her, I know Becky had chided me for being so over protective the night before but I hated the idea of my imprint being upset because I wasn't there. Still I felt what I needed to do was too important to deny it. Ramon had a serious lesson to learn and I was the best one to teach it to him.

Pulling on my clothes I could feel my wolf inside was a restless as I was feeling. I could feel the tingle of my skin at the excitement of the impending confrontation. I pulled on my boots, pausing one last time to look at Lea's nude form. Crossing the bed I gathered the blankets I'd dumped on the side when joining her in the bed the evening before. Pulling them back up I covered Lea's frame, not wanting her to wake up cold.

Letting out my breath I squared my shoulders. I was ready to face the man who had terrified my loved one so much. Silently I crept from the room and down the hall to the stairway. I paused at the doorway to the living room and Embry sleepily opened his eyes. We exchanged nods; he knew he was to watch the women while I was out taking care of things.

I didn't hesitate and I was out the door and down the street in what felt like moments. The air was clear and cool, it was still early enough that the traffic was minimal and the air wasn't choked with the stench of exhaust fumes. I was striding with a purpose and the few people I passed as I walked I noticed stepped away to avoid me.

I didn't even have to try to reach for my wolf this morning. It felt like we were side by side, watching and thinking together, sharing our thoughts and ideas. My skin no longer rippling like I was continuously fighting a transformation, we were working as a unit and we both knew our human shape made more sense currently so the wolf didn't battle me to change it.

The subway ride was quick and I was in Manhattan before the sun was completely in the sky. Hands in my pockets, head slightly down. I slowed for a moment as some punk looking asshole walking two huge pit bulls approached me. The dogs were both collared with chains and the sight of his blatant flaunting disgusted me, I stepped over to the side not wishing to engage the asshole, but he stopped sizing me up laughing.

"You better move your stupid ass out of my way." I was completely unimpressed by his swagger. I felt the loud growl leave my chest and looked surprised as the two pit bulls responded. Only they didn't become aggressive, but instead both cowered down. I felt my eyes narrow as I felt the wolf inside of me glower. "What the fuck?" The shit head was looking at his dogs and when he looked back up at me I saw a hint of fear in his gaze.

Shaking my head I simply turned and walked away, scenting the cold sweat breaking out on the man behind me. I could hear him rushing in the opposite direction and I couldn't help the small smile that crossed my face. I felt powerful and different. Like I'd described it to Embry, it felt right. I felt like an Alpha, maybe truly for the first time.

It didn't take me long to reach the station were Lea used to work. I positioned myself across the street, leaning in an alley, trying to look as inconspicuous as I could all things considered. I watched the activity happening at the building across from my vantage point. People were coming and going, cops starting their shifts and others heading home. The city around me slowly started to wake up; more people were walking the streets getting ready for work. Smells started to drift out of diners and cafes around where I was standing and I heard my stomach growl. I forced the hungry feeling aside for now; I could eat later after I was finished.

I was starting to get concerned. Part of me wanted to call Chris again because he had made it sound like Ramon was going to be released right away and I was starting to fear maybe even with as early as I had gotten up I had somehow missed him. I schooled my apprehension, trying to learn patience, but it had never been one of my strong points.

My entire frame tensed, I could feel my wolf inside grow ridge as completely nonchalantly Ramon came strolling out of the precinct. I realized I wasn't certain what I had actually been expecting, but I guess something more. Maybe a cop actually tossing him from the building in question instead the fucker just walked out not a care in the world. I growled deeply, even more aggravated.

Ramon seemed to know just where he wanted to go, his pace unquestioning and easy. Leaving my watch point I started to follow. Keeping enough distance between us to allow me to follow him both visually and by scent. Either he didn't notice me or Ramon didn't recall me from the day before, because he gave absolutely no sign that he even suspected he was being followed.

This continued for some time, we both ended up on the subway eventually and heading towards the Bronx. I felt displeasure at the fact I was heading into enemy territory completely unprepared and uncertain about our eventual destination. I would make my move soon I figured, when I found an area that I could get Ramon alone in. I took a deep breath trying to keep myself relaxed and still, it was harder then I realized.

I exited the subway when Ramon did, continuing my tracking. Pleased to see the area where we ended up was more residential and at this time of day appeared to be less busy. A few people clustered at shops and other populated areas, but there were also stretches of apartments where it was just Ramon and I walking. For the moment I fell back farther so as not to immediately draw his attention to me.

I was out of my element, in this city, so a plan wasn't forming as quickly as it usually would in my head. I had so many new variables to consider and the scents were so numerous it was hard for me to discern old from new and know where a good place to stop was. Glancing around myself I figured it was time to alter my tactics some. Changing direction I loped across the street, keeping my prey in sight I saw my first major advantage as Ramon pulled out his cell phone.

Now distracted, the shit head didn't notice my closing in closer to his position on the other side of the street. I was still too far to make out his words, but from the asshole grin on his face I had the feeling I wouldn't like what Ramon was saying. I saw a sign up ahead about parking and it looked like a small dip down into some sort of underground area. My muscles tensed, this would be good I think. It would conceal us from immediate public view and give me a little room to maneuver.

I doubled my pace my large strides devouring the space between Ramon and me. I was across the street and timed myself so that I would hit him at the same moment he was in front of the parking area. I stole one last look around me for any other people and didn't see any in view. I just hoped for a little bit of luck that no one would happen to be glancing out there window when I hit the asshole and call the police. Only time would tell if I would succeed.

Ramon didn't even see me coming. One moment he was laughing raucously into the cell at his ear, the next I plowed full force into his smaller frame sending him flying across the empty space and skidding into the parking garage off to the side of the street. He let out a surprised yell, only to be met by a loud growl from me as picking him up by the front of his jacket and shirt I lifted him right off the ground carrying him a few paces before slamming him into a concrete pole.

Holding my prey tightly I first glanced around for where his phone was not wanting to alert anyone outside of us on how to find our location. A pleased smile crossed my face when I saw it, smashed into a couple of pieces lying near a small vehicle a few feet away. I turned back to Ramon, glaring openly at him watching him stare back at me in wide eyed horror. I scented the air around us, but the garage was filled with such a stench of garbage and vermin that I couldn't really differentiate anything else.

"Hello again Ramon." My tone was deep and commanding and filled with nothing but malice. As the shock of my appearance and my slamming into him started to wear off I watched Ramon's expression darken, his eyes narrowing as he frowned down at me.

"You stupid fucking asshole. You have no idea the world of hurt you have just brought down on you and that bitch cop you're fucking." Ramon was almost spitting on me, his words were so venomous. I could feel my teeth bare at the mention of my imprint, shifting the man's frame to just one of my hands and slugged him soundly in the gut. Ramon made a soft noise of pain, bending forward against my arm.

"Listen shit head; maybe you should think long and hard before you speak to me again." I was panting, my wolf so near the surface, my fury simmering inside my frame. "I don't think you clearly understand just what you're messing with when you threaten the woman I love." Ramon's face lifted and he was still glaring daggers at me.

"No you listen to me you big, fucking freak. I don't think you understand the connections I have in this city. Just how fucking miserable I can make your fucking life." Ramon was a small, insignificant worm, barely worth my time in the large scheme of things, except he had made the mistake of attacking my mate. The temptation to just kill him was so great inside of me. It would have been far too easy, but Embry's words hung in my head and I knew taking a human life even one as worthless as Ramon's was starting myself down a path I never wanted to walk.

"I don't think you appreciate the situation you're currently in Ramon. I'm allowing you to live not because you deserve it, but because I don't want my hands dirty with your blood; but make no mistake. I could tear your head right off your shoulder's right now if I felt like it." I stepped forward lifting the smaller man higher off the ground. I wanted him to get the idea just how helpless he currently actually was.

I saw it then, the flicker of uncertainty in Ramon's eyes. It was just what I had been waiting for. He glanced down at the concrete below and then up at me and I could see he was trying to reason out if my threat was actually true. "Fuck man no one could do something like that with their bare hands." His tone wasn't as cocky as it had been before and I knew he was trying to assure himself of that fact as much as he was telling me.

A wicked smile crossed my features as I felt a rumbling laugh emit from my throat. Still holding Ramon's body with my left hand I grabbed his face with my right. I squeezed, not hard enough to hurt him but certainly enough to scare him more. "Ramon you have no fucking clue what you're dealing with. You might be tough shit in this city, but you can't even comprehend what my life actually is."

I pulled my hand away from his face, leaning in closer, my teeth once again bared as a low growl emitted from my chest. My eyes were now inches from his and I could smell the cold sweat breaking out across his body. "Now you are going to listen to me and you are going to do just what I say. If you don't, not only am I going to beat the shit out of you, I'm going to track down every single person you're associated with and destroy them also." Ramon's bravado had deflated. He hung from my hand, his eyes now darting around no longer spewing threats but I think instead now trying to figure out how he could escape.

"You want to make a deal man? I'm not above making a deal. What do you want, money, information? I can get it for you." I pulled my face back a little, considering the man squirming in my grip now. How weak willed and pathetic he truly was. A slow bubbling fury boiled inside me. Thinking someone this revolting could have ever threatened someone as strong as Lea.

"I don't need information and the last thing I would ever want was your money." My expression twisted into a frown of displeasure. Ramon had a quick in take of breath, his eye growing wider in panic not certain what I was going to demand next. "What I want from you asshole is simple. One you are to _never _come anywhere near my girlfriend ever again. If you see her I want you to actually run in the other direction like your life depends on it, because it does."

Ramon's eyes narrowed I could see him thinking about my words. I didn't give him much time to process my request before I continued. "Secondly I want you off the streets while Lea is in the city, so you Ramon are going to walk yourself right back down to the police station and turn yourself in for any number of crimes I'm certain you have committed recently." I visibly saw his body bristle at the second thing I'd asked him for. A touch of the panic left Ramon's gaze and was replaced by defiance.

"No fucking way you psychopath am I getting myself put in jail. You can take your request and stick it up your ass." Ramon's fury had returned full force at the idea of incarceration. This didn't surprise me, someone who had turned on as many people as he had, probably had uncountable enemies in lock up. His problem was that I didn't care and he was going to do what I said.

"That's not the answer you want to give me Ramon." I shifted him towards the left, grabbing his right arm tightly with mine and I twisted. I could feel the bone and muscle strain under my strong grip and Ramon let out an immediate whimper of pain. "I want to hear you agree to everything I just said and for you to scurry away like the good little cockroach you are."

I gave Ramon credit, he held out with his tough guy front a hell of a lot longer then I would have thought he was capable of. I twisted his arm a little more, feeling the bone crunching inside his skin knowing if the asshole didn't agree soon I was going to cleanly break the arm. My nose crinkled up as I let out a disgusted noise as I realized the other man had just pissed himself and I knew this "hot shit" act he was putting up was not as impressive as I had thought it was. "Ramon!" I growled out the other man's name reminding him that I was in control.

I closely watched Ramon's expressions, his eyes darting everywhere, the sweat now beading on his forehead and running down to drop off his chin. "You don't understand man I go to prison and I'm dead!" The panic in his tone told me it was probably true, the problem was I just didn't give a fuck about him.

"Maybe you should have thought of that you asshole before you attacked my girlfriend at the police station." I gave Ramon's arm one good last wrench and I both heard and felt the bone snap inside his skin. The smaller man screamed, tears now running out of his eyes, crying freely. I was surprised just how little remorse I actually felt for him.

"You stupid, mother fucker you broke my arm! Do you know what you just did you fucking freak!" Ramon was still yelling and whimpering and in general was a mess of the man he had been when I had knocked him in here. My gaze held on his face, unimpressed and serious.

"You're going to go to the police station right now, okay Ramon? Because I can break something you need a fuck of a lot more then just your arm." I realized I didn't really want to go through with the new threat. I didn't mind a certain level of strong arming this shit head, but I knew at some point I had to draw that line. Thankfully for me, sniffling now, looking like the absolutely pathetic loser I knew he was Ramon started to nod his head fiercely.

"Yes, fine you win. I'll go to the police station. Whatever, will you just put me down now?" I studied Ramon's expression for a long moment. Considering his words and if there was actually truth in them and I decided I would just have to wait and see. Anyway it wasn't like I couldn't find him again if he didn't listen to me and maybe next time he would face the wolf instead of the man; and the wolf was far less forgiving.

"You better be telling me the truth, because if you don't Ramon, I'll find you. You can trust me about that." I dropped the sniveling man to his feet, watching him grip his injured arm while looking up at me.

"You best watch your back, you shit head. I may turn myself in, but I'll make certain first that you'll have a price on your head." His expression had turned shrewd. My wolf snapped inside at the challenge of the other male.

"Bring it." I growled baring my teeth yet again. Ramon gave me one last hard look, I could see truly sizing me up. From the way his expression felt I could see he didn't like the challenge in my eyes, the fact I was not afraid of him in the least.

Still gripping his lame limb, Ramon turned and started to run farther into the garage. I didn't give chase figuring he might know a different exit. I'd laid out the ground rules for him and now I would just have to make sure he followed them. I watched Ramon for a few moments, before a scent caught my attention. It was momentary and gone almost as quickly as I noticed it but I'd almost though I caught the whiff of another wolf.

I froze trying to attune all of my senses, trying to see, hear or smell if anyone else was in there with Ramon and me. The area was too clogged with other scents and garbage and vehicles and after a moment I figured I was imaging things. All the adrenaline pumping through me had probably tricked my brain.

I smiled. I couldn't help myself. I'd just accomplished something that surprised me about myself, the way I had kept my cool and controlled everything. I let out a deep breath turning towards the exit to the garage, looking down at my form pleased to see my clothes were barely winkled from everything that had just happened.

I couldn't wait to get home and see Lea and tell her she was now safe. A small part of me hoped she wouldn't be angry at me for taking the law into my own hands, but I think because I didn't kill Ramon she would understand and maybe if I was lucky even be proud of me. Walking out into the cooler city air I nodded at a hot dog vendor as I walked back towards the subway.

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><p><em>AN: Seeing slight character changes from Jake this chapter hope everyone approves :D <em>

_I seriously cannot thank everyone enough for all the reviews last chapter! So glad to know everyone seems to like what I am doing with the guys connection to their wolves!_

_**Fanatic22**, **Princess Aria Romanov**, and **possumm**thank all of you so much for your thoughtful reviews!_

_**TWIN268 **thank you so much for the review and please never hesitate to write me whenever you like on here! Meeting all the awesome other werewolf fans has been one of the best parts of writing this story!_

_I also got two guest reviews I want to thank you guys for! I just don't have proper names with which to do so, but your opinion still means a lot to me!_

_Also thank everyone for all the new favorites and likes both of my pieces have gotten since my last update!_

_Also, I realize that in my last authors note the address to the Tumblr I made never actually posted. I put it on my profile page if anyone cares to follow! Thank you all again!_


	18. Chapter 17

**UNKNOWN**

I'd been trying to sleep. I'd made myself a make shift den in a basement of a building. It had easy access to the outside and the tenants rarely came down here because it tended to attract the unsavory element. I kept everyone else out of my home for now, I'd enjoyed the park much more then here, but felt safer and less noticed in this neighborhood then I had in the nicer parts of the city.

The stone beneath me was cool as was the breeze wafting in from the outside. I stretched out my muzzle resting against my paws, enjoying the air, thinking about how I was going to spend my next evening; growing bored with all the exploring I'd been doing lately. I was starting to wonder if I should move on to another city, if I had been in this place for too long when a smell hit my senses and my blood froze. It was another wolf. I leapt to my feet, fur on end knowing that my pack had found me and realizing I would rather fight them all here then return to my fate.

My breathing slowed as gradually I realized that the scent was moving away from me instead of towards me. Once I started to focus more, it also finally dawned on me that the stink of the other wolf wasn't familiar to me. My ears lowered to the sides of my head in confusion. I knew every wolf in my pack, we had all grown together how could I not know this one, unless he wasn't from my pack.

I crept out of my den, staying low and stealthy. The sun was out and generally I disliked being near the street in my wolf form at this time of day. Fortunately the other wolf had moved down into the parking garage next to my den. I could hear commotion and I peered down the entrance, positioning myself behind a dumpster so as not to be seen by anyone passing by. I perhaps hadn't chosen the best vantage point, I could only catch glimpses of the figures below me as they moved about, but it didn't take me long to get a general idea of what was happening.

I didn't know this wolf, but from his bearing and the way he carried himself I could easily tell he was an Alpha. I hadn't realized there was a pack in this city, I was actually surprised he hadn't sought me out for hunting in his territory, but this was a large place and maybe he figured I hadn't been in his way so I wasn't worth his trouble. Even in his human form I could see his power, I felt a shiver run down my spine as new ideas started to form in my head.

If this was an unknown pack, maybe I could join it and then I could get protection from my old group when they sought me out. I watched the Alpha swinging the sheep around, growling and threatening him and I could feel my tongue loll out of my muzzle with pleasure. This Alpha seemed like he was as dispassionate about human sheep as I was. It seemed that this one had offended his mate in some way. I cocked my head listening and learning.

A mate meant a pack, which meant safety. I watched hoping the Alpha would kill the sheep and maybe if I crawled out on my belly and displayed my allegiance he would even allow me to share in his victory. The Alpha continues yelling at the human. I have to contain myself as he injures him, my body wiggling with joy at the sight.

Disappointment, confusion as the Alpha throws the man down and chases him away. I'm uncertain now what I should do, if I would endanger myself to show my face to this new wolf. I crawl back more, flatting myself as much as possible to the concrete below. Scarcely breathing as the Alpha looks around and I know he can tell I'm there. Thankfully he seems preoccupied with what he had just accomplished and walks out of the garage.

I huff lightly to myself of two minds. I could shift into my human form and follow the Alpha or I could continue hiding and give more serious thought to my idea of moving on. My hackles rose as I saw the human sheep the Alpha had been harassing earlier return. He was cradling the arm the Alpha had broken, swearing to himself and saying all manner of nasty things.

A thought struck me suddenly. Maybe I could get on the good side of this Alpha, maybe if I do him a favor he in return might give me the protection of his pack. I liked living the way I desired, but being alone simply did not appeal to me. It isn't in my nature and seeing the other wolf this morning had really made that fact hit home for me.

The sheep was crouching down to look at his phone. My long tongue licked up and ran over my teeth, my stomach rumbling at the thought of a nice hot breakfast. I don't know if the sheep knew what hit him. My jaws seized around his shoulders and neck and killed him instantly, his warm flesh filling my empty belly. I kept alert ready to run at the slightest noise. I ate my fill but not as much as I usual would, I didn't feel like I had that much spare time.

Quickly I marked all around the corpse, leaving it out in the open, wishing for it to be found quickly. I wanted to leave a welcome for the Alpha. Show him what I had done for him and that I was a good hunter, and would be a good pack member. Once finished I made my way swiftly back to my den.

The area was now compromised and I couldn't stay here, I shifted to my human form pulling on some clothes I'd hidden. I broke down items I'd fitting to my living space to make it less obvious to sheep eyes what had been here. Pulling up the hood of the jacket I was wearing I could hear a commotion down in the parking area as I walked by. Moving faster I wanted to get out there before the police were called and chaos really broke out.

I hope the Alpha likes his gift.

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><p><em>AN: First off I have to thank <strong>cecld16 <strong>sometimes I guess I get so tied up in life and the Holidays and such I don't even realize how long it has been since my last update until someone asks me when I am posting one next *laughs*_

_Hopefully you guys still want to read this and you can forgive me for being a little addle- brained. I know this chapter is short, I have actually been waiting until I finished the next chapter so that I could post them together and give you guys a longer update but decided that I have been so slow I am just going to throw this up. The next chapter is Embry and I am almost done with it and hopefully it will be posted up much sooner then this one was._

_I do have a lot of people I want to thank for their reviews of the last chapter: **Fanatic22**, **Princess Aria Romanov**, **possumm**, twin68 and **Roflmao101** thanks so much for the reviews all of you! It's not only my love of the characters, but the kind words of everyone I have met here that keep me coming back to this story and trying to finish it! _


	19. Chapter 18

**EMBRY**

I watched Jake leaving the house. Lying still, giving him the impression I was going to immediately drift back off to sleep. I knew what my Alpha was expecting of me, I could plainly see it in his expression before he left. He wanted me to guard the house in case of danger. Yet somehow I didn't think that much was going to happen in the middle of this busy street in Brooklyn. I sat up as I heard the door closing. Letting out a long sigh, both excited and dreading what I was about to do today.

I folded up the bedding I was using, placing it all in a rocking chair towards the back of the room, where it seemed to be out of the way. Putting the throw pillows back on the couch from where I'd tossed them on the floor the night before, my mind buzzing with about a million thoughts.

I stopped, taking command of my breath, slowing it to ease my ability to listen. Nothing sounded that really stuck out to me, a soft noise that was very probably Mick moving around Becky's room. Both the women appeared to be asleep which was good. I'd worried that Jake leaving might have woken Lea up and then she would have asked me a lot of questions about where I was going.

So far luck seemed to be on my side. I made my way over to my bags, pulling out some clothes for the day and the small shopping bag that contained the toothbrush I'd purchased at the store. I crept up the stairs to the bathroom above, trying to make minimal noise. Getting inside I swiftly shed my sleeping attire and took a lighting fast shower. Stepped out again I shook my head the water droplets sprinkling around the bathroom. I stopped and listened again; pleased to see I still appeared to be the only person awake.

I dressed and brushed my teeth, finally finished I looked down at the small travel bag full of all of Jake's toiletries. This was sort of my now or never moment. After this I couldn't turn back. I grabbed his toothbrush out and ripping open the new one threw it in with my friend's stuff. Shoving his old toothbrush into the plastic bag the new one had been in.

Combing my fingers through my hair I took a couple deep breaths, schooling my own emotions, trying to keep myself calm even as I felt jitters. My wolf actually seemed to be choosing to ignore me at this point. It was an odd, very lonely sensation to not immediately feel his opinion on the matter even if it was one of displeasure. I gathered up my dirty clothes and my bag and slipped back out of the room and down the stairs.

I'd hoped to just be able to leave a quick note. It would be far less for me to explain on the onset and hopefully by the time I returned everyone would be so focused on Jake's activities for the morning me stepping out for a walk would seem minor in comparison. I scribbled down quickly that I would return soon and without looking back I too exited the building.

The air outside felt fresh and cool compared to the house and I realized I'd felt stifled inside. Tucking the bag containing the toothbrush into the back pocket of my jeans I started my way down the road to the address Kim had given me. It was only a short subway trip to get to the street I was looking for. Walking down towards the diner, I realized I was a little early and I hoped the restaurant would be open already. Scolding myself for not grabbing a book, which was unlike me. In case I had a long wait it would be a good distraction.

Finally I saw the eatery ahead and the blinking open sign came as a good omen. Stepping in the door and glancing around no one really paid me mind. It was mostly business women and men all grabbing something to full their bellies before starting their days. I moved towards the back and a small table sliding into one of the sits and trying to not bring too much attention to myself.

One of the oldest waitresses I've ever had approached my table. She gave me a considering look and I got the impression that most of the people here at this time of day were regulars. I tired to paint on my most trusting smile and after not much more then a glance it seemed that she wrote me off as harmless.

"What can I get for you today?" I realized I had the menu in my hand but had barely even looked at it. I didn't think I should get anything before Harry got here but I needed to stall for time.

"Can I just have a cup of black coffee please?" I smiled up at the older woman and she grinned back.

"I'll be right back with it." The waitress had a motherly air to her which caused my slightly rattled nerves to relax further. Pulling my phone out I checked the time again, I was still about fifteen earlier then the planned meeting time. I decided that giving a long, hard look at the menu was warranted, as it would keep my mind from focusing on how nervous I could feel myself becoming.

The waitress returned with my drink leaving it to cool on the table next to me. I nodded thanks before once again allowing my attention to be consumed by food choices. I'd pretty much decided what I wanted when I felt a person standing over me. Glancing up quickly I felt a flash of relief to see Harry had arrived. "Have you been here long?" The Asian man slid into the chair across the table from my own.

"Not that long, just enough for my drink to cool." I noticed my coffee was not steaming as much as when the older lady had brought it and picking it up took a swig. The caffeine felt good pumping through my system.

"Sorry I didn't realize you were an early riser." Kim gestured towards the waitress drawing her back towards our table. We both ordered our food and Harry got a coffee also. The waitress walked away and our attention turned back to each other.

"Usual I'm not really a morning person, but the last few days at the house have been kind of nuts." I took another shallow of my drink and I watched understanding flash through Kim's eyes.

"I heard about what happened to Lea, hell I think everyone in the station got an earful from Chris. Is she doing alright?" Once again I noted the genuine concern in Harry's face and it made me feel better. Doing this didn't seem as wrong when I was being helped by someone who was obviously as good of a person as Kim was.

"Jake's taking care of everything in his own way. Lea I think will be fine eventually." I shuffled around a little in my seat, feeling guilt knowing that the tragedy that had befell my best friend's girl friend should probably be my priority right now and not my own messed up life, but I couldn't stop myself from wanting to find out the truth.

"Well that's good, I guess." I could see the considering look Kim gave me when I told him that Jake was taking care of it, I think he might have asked me more but to my surprise our food arrived at the table in record time and interrupted that train of thought. "So you're certain you really want to do this Embry?"

Harry was sprinkling salt and pepper over his meal giving me another questioning look. Now I kind of wished we could have stayed on the topic of Lea. "Positive, trust me. Once I get this question out of the way I can really start figuring out my life." Kim looked at me for a long time and I felt myself grown uncomfortable under his gaze.

"But what if your question isn't answered? What if you still don't know who your father is? Will you keep allowing it to control your life?" I could see the one issue with Harry being a concerned supporter now, it meant he was going to be slightly more invested in this then I needed him to be.

"I will face whatever I need to, when I need to face it. For now all I can do is take this whole problem one step at a time." I tried to look firm, emphasizing the fact it wasn't open for discussion further by starting to eat my food.

"I don't want to step on your toes Embry. I just want to let you see the scope of what you are doing. Did you bring everything I told you to?" Kim had started on his meal now too; I paused in eating to reach back into my pockets to get the items he had requested.

"Here's the cash and Jake's toothbrush." I was glad I'd opened my bank account without involving my Mom so now I didn't have to explain to her why I'd pulled out as much money as I just had. Kim looked down at the items I'd shuffled towards him reaching out and shoving them in the pocket of his jacket.

"And now I just need a sample from you." Harry reached down to the other side of his coat and pulled out a small tube. Inside was a swab, carefully he took it out and passed it over to me. "Just rub it on the inside of your cheek." Gingerly I reached out and took the offered item and followed his instructions. Kim then held the tube open for me to place it back inside myself.

"That should be everything. It should only take a few days to get the results. I'll contact you as soon as I do." Harry had now tucked all the items into his coat. I let out a long breath feeling like everything was finally out of my hands and now all I could do was wait.

"Thanks a lot for doing this. I don't know if you understand what's it's like to have something this serious hanging over your head all the time. Never knowing, but clearly seeing other people judging you about it." I couldn't admit it to Kim but it was the thing I hated most about wolf telepathy, feeling the pity of my pack mates.

"We all have our crosses to bear Embry; I just hope this doesn't blow up in your face." His words made me bristle, but the worry in Harry's face kept me from making a smart remark. Maybe he did or didn't understand what I was currently going through, but he was helping me so I should be respectful of him simply for that fact.

Breakfast passed quickly after the exchange of my items. We tried to make small talk, but I was on edge and I think Kim wasn't really certain what to say to me. We both finished our food and exchanged brief farewells. I left the diner feeling relief that I had accomplished what I just did and dread that I might still be found out.

I hoped I made it back to Becky's before Jake did, because I had the feeling my Alpha would be less them forgiving that I hadn't directly followed his orders. Hopping back on the subway, it was getting to be later in the morning and the crowds on the street were growing. I tromped back up Becky's stoop, scenting seeing if I could tell if Jake had returned already, but everything just smelled like exhaust and city.

The door slowly creaked open as I peered inside, stopping to listen, preparing myself for what I may find inside. After a moment I realized I still didn't hear anyone awake and silently I cheered. Not only had I made it back before my friend did, but both of the woman were still sleeping. Sometimes it was really lucky that Becky didn't have a job that kept her on regular hours.

Striding back into the living room I fell down onto the couch. Thinking about turning on the TV but realizing my mind was buzzing too much to even be able to focus on it. I closed my eyes and reached out inside to my wolf. I knew he was there and figured he was still just ignoring me. Instead I got a definite blast of his disapproval. If he and I were eye to eye at the moment I'm certain he would be growling at me.

I frowned; annoyed that this part of me simply couldn't understand why finding out whom my father was could be important to me. I tried to focus, to connect to my wolf the same way Jake had been saying he'd been doing with his. I felt a tingle run over my skin and get the impression of displeasure; I can clearly see that as annoyed as I was getting with my wolf for not understanding me, he feels equally about me not seeing what he means.

sigh deeply and for the first time in a long time just allow all of my inner walls to come crashing down. The intensity of my emotions is almost over whelming. So much self doubt and loneliness, but I want my wolf to feel it I want him to know why I want my answers. It's important for me to understand where I belong. My wolf pushes back, and my eyes open. Clearly I get the impression of my pack, of how important within it I am and how that is where I belong.

Then to my shock I think of Becky. So clearly I can scent her without her even being in the room. She is also important to me and I hold much self worth to her. My lips press down into a narrow line as I realize what my wolf is simply trying to show me. How much I do matter and that the sum of my parts are not made up by my past, but in fact by the man that I currently am. Pride swells through me and I know it's from my canine counterpart but how could I not share in the feelings. Knowing I'm a Beta and I'm important.

I choke on tears welling unwanted in my eyes, I wasn't even certain I'd completely realized just how deeply these feelings of being unimportant had cut into me. I'd assumed I'd wanted to know who my father was because it was that one major unanswered question of my past. I realized that wasn't it at all, I needed to know because I desired to feel like I was part of something more. Yet plainly I could see now that I was and I could easily tell just how important I am to my pack. My wolf left no doubt of that for me anymore. Maybe everything Kim had been trying to tell me was true, maybe I was looking for answers I didn't need. Maybe I already had everything I wanted right in front of me.

I turned swiftly, sucking in a surprised breath as I scented and heard Becky standing off to the side of me. I cursed the panicked look that I couldn't hide. "Embry?" The concern in her tone was plain and warranted considering the ridiculous expression I must have on my face currently. I squeezed my eyes tightly for a second forcing back the flood of emotions that had consumed me.

"Hey." I tried to sound nonchalant, but realized how silly that must seem with how upset I'd just been. Becky's brows knit for a moment, pushing her long hair over her shoulder she walked into the room with me. Her bare feet shuffling quietly across the carpeted floor, she looked so sweet and lovely just having woken up, her pajamas still slightly rumbled from her bed.

"What's going on? I heard you come in a little while ago. Is Jake alright? Did something happen?" Becky slid into the arm chair across from me, her expression becoming mildly more apprehensive and I gritted my teeth. First because she had heard I was out and secondly because I had to explain it in some way because she was jumping to the completely wrong conclusions.

"As far as I know Jake is fine. He left before me this morning. I had something on my own to do." I couldn't look at her; I knew she would be able to read every single thing I was feeling from one look in my eyes.

"What did you have to do?" I glanced at the woman across from me. She had seen how upset I was and I knew that's what was making her press with questions more then Becky usually would. I couldn't lie to her. I wanted to, but I just knew it would tear me apart and that my wolf would be even more furious with me. I could try to deflect the question but I had the feeling that would just cause Becky to start to ask Lea questions and I wanted that even less. If Lea started to think something was wrong it wouldn't be too far after that when Jake would be brought into the situation.

My mind raced as I quickly attempted to decide my next course of action. Inside my wolf pressed against his boundary, thinking I was a fool. He wanted me to trust the woman sitting with me. He wanted me to unburden myself of my secret. I let out a long, low breath, seeing quite clearly that I may not have any other option but to truly allow myself to trust Becky. The odd thing was, that prospect didn't bother me as much as I assumed it would. Maybe I really was starting to see things more clearly.

"Becky if I tell you something, I need it to stay between the two of us. If you don't think that's possible for you to do, please be honest with me and tell me now." I finally fully turned to look at the woman in the room with me. Her expression was drawn and I watched surprise and anxiety flash through her eyes at my inquiry. Still I held my ground and waited for her reply.

"Wow, I mean you want me to be truthful with you Embry? I think I probably can, but I don't feel comfortable one hundred percent promising anything to you not knowing what the secret is. I can tell you that if I can't keep private whatever you are about to tell me, I'll tell you before I do anyone else." Becky's expression was more even and strong then I'd expected it to be. She had always seemed delicate to me in a way I had never realized before, but now she almost seemed like a foundation I could build on. It hit me that I needed to tell her everything that hiding all these actions deep inside me was slowly destroying my soul. I just hoped we could reach a compromise about her telling anyone else what I was about to share.

"I'll take that offer, because now that I've actually done what I have, it feels like too heavy of a weight to carry alone." I clasped my hands in front of me, closing my eyes for just a moment, I felt a ghost of a smile play across my lips at the pleasure my wolf had because of my choice. The chair Becky was on creaked and I looked up just in time to see her rise and cross to the couch sitting down next to me. Reaching out she rubbed my arm lightly and I felt a real support from this small woman I'd only known for a few weeks. It made me feel braver then I had in a while.

"I may have done something that will make Jake pretty pissed off at me, if he finds out." I looked back up at Becky, leaning a little into her touch. Finding comfort in her nearness as was prone from my canine nature.

"Well I don't know if there are many things Lea could do that I couldn't eventually forgive her for. I'm assuming you and Jake are the same." Becky's tone stayed even and I found myself reflected on her words for a moment before I shrugged.

"I don't know this is pretty big." I found the smaller woman's eyes again, feeling my apprehension bleed over to her. Becky leaned over, resting her head against my shoulder; I smiled a small smile again.

"Well how about you tell me what you did and I'll tell you if I think it's forgivable?" Becky didn't even need to ask me to continue; now that I had started I could feel that everything I'd done was starting to tumble out of me like a rush of a waterfall. I cleared my throat, ready.

"My life has had some pretty fucking screwed up parts to it." I started my soliloquy a thoughtful look on my face. "It all started with the fact that I was born out of wedlock and that my Mom has never really been perfectly clear about who my father actually was." Becky listened intently as I spoke; it made everything I was saying seem easier.

"Living on a place as small as the La Push reservation, well everyone talks and everyone knows everyone else's business. It didn't take me long to realize that rumors about my paternity was a common form of the gossip surrounding me. It made a lot of the different parts of my life awkward and has really been a burden to not only myself but a lot of my friends." Becky brows knit again and I could see she wanted to inquire how this would affect other people, so I pressed on not really wanting to try to reason out a way to explain our pack to her.

"I would have to be an idiot to not understand that some people think one of the men in our tribe is my father. In fact some people think it might even be Jake's dad." I paused, allowing what I was implying to fully sink in for the woman sitting next to me. I watched as her eyes widened.

"You don't think it is, do you Embry?" Suddenly Becky understood why all of this was so serious and I think she knew now why I had been fighting so hard to keep it a secret.

"Honestly, I have no clue, but here, right now I have the opportunity to find out and that's just what I plan to do." I'd been completely truthful with her and I had to admit to myself that it felt damn good to do so. No longer carrying this alone felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

"What do you mean?" I knew Becky would want an explanation but that was actually the easier part of this confession.

"One of the lab guys down at Lea's old station told me he could help me get a paternity test. I got him everything he needed to see if Jake and I are brother's and he is going to get me the results as soon as he find them out." I watched Becky's expression grow even more shocked. She sat there is silence for a moment, her gaze shifting up and out the front window across from us.

"Don't you think Jake deserves to know this though?" She looked back to me and I cringed a little at her question, knowing that my best friend probably did and realizing I was most likely an asshole because I hadn't told him.

"Yeah, probably, but you see Jake and his dad they have had a _really _bad last couple of years. It wasn't until he met Lea and started turning his life around that Jake and his father actually started to mend things between each other. Becky, I just don't want to drive a wedge between the two of them for something I don't even know is true yet. Does that make me a coward?" I surprised myself by asking the question and was even more surprised by how desperately I was waiting to hear her answer.

I watched the small woman across from me just look at me for a few moments, her expression flowing from grave to concerned to almost warm in a way. Becky slowly leaned forward and I felt my eyes close as gently she kissed the side of my face. Nuzzling my check with her nose, it was such a comfort at that moment, it almost over whelmed me.

"You're not a coward Embry. You're facing your issue head on which takes a lot of self will and strength. I think the reason you can't tell Jake is because you love him too much to hurt him needlessly. To be blunt were I in the same situation with Lea, I would probably handle it almost the same as you." Her even, thoughtful demeanor made my mess of emotions make a lot more sense. If she could see that I was in fact refraining from sharing the whole truth mostly for Jake then it made me feel like I actually was and that I simply wasn't lying to myself about it.

"Thank you. I don't know if I can express how much better your words have made me feel." Leaning forward it was now my turn to nuzzle the side of her face with my nose, she made a soft happy noise which brought the smile back to my face.

"And Embry, I won't tell anyone about this, at least not until we find out what the actual results are. You're right there is no reason to cause absolute chaos when we're not even certain if the entire situation is worth getting upset over." Her scent and body, warm and female with my inner turmoil quelled I could feel blood starting to pool in my groin as my thoughts turned to how delicious losing myself within Becky's body would be.

We both started, at the noise of the front door banging open and I didn't even need extra senses to know it had to be my Alpha. Becky and I pulled away, but reaching out I held her hand in my lap as Jake walked down the hallway and turned into the living room doorway giving us both a considering look. My friend seemed different, in control and powerful in a way I'd never seen before. I could feel my wolf react to his and inside without a word I knew Jake's hunt had been successful.

"Everything alright Jake?" Becky was finally the one who spoke. I watched some of the intensity disappear from my friend's face as he started to speak.

"Yeah hopefully that shit head Ramon is on his way to turn himself in to the police as we speak." Jake leaned against the door frame now, a wicked grin crossing his face. Becky I could see relaxed visibly when Jake mentioned that Ramon was still alive. It surprised me to realize she had actually thought my Alpha was going to kill the man.

"That should make Lea feel better." Becky's tone was soft and if Jake noticed her reaction to his confession he made no notice of it. Instead he glanced back towards the stairway.

"Is she still sleeping?" It didn't surprise me that his first concern would be his mate. This time I spoke up nodding my head.

"That or she is just lying up there. Either way she hasn't been out of the room." I hadn't heard Lea moving around so I was hazarding she was still resting. Seeing my expression I think Jake could read this and nodded his head in understanding.

"If you'll excuse me I want to go check on her." I watched him walk away, his shoulders squared. I blinked, realizing where just a few weeks ago my friend had seemed weighted and now he seemed almost assured. I recognized I couldn't even place when the change had happened, but I did know I felt proud of him; and hopefully maybe soon I would for myself too. Looking back down Becky was smiling up at me. I gently lowered my lips to hers, hopefully maybe for a couple of different reasons.

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><p><em>AN: I have another update for all of you and it's actually a proper chapter this time! Hope all of you like it, Embry is slowly developing and growing closer to Becky and we took another step in the process of finding out who his father is!<em>

_Thanks to: **cecld16**, **tori.m** and **possumm** for the reviews last chapter! I always appreciate hearing whatever you guys think and also thanks to all the new favorites and watches that I got!_

_I think next chapter is going to be Lea. I will try to get it up in a timely manner also! _


	20. Chapter 19

**LEA**

Darkness, black like fresh ink, warm almost like liquid, no sound, no smells, just an endless void. I felt peaceful, somewhere I knew something was wrong but it seemed very far away and not important. The only thing that mattered was floating and breathing, if there was even air here.

A force captured me and I jolted my entire frame tense and twisting against some unseen binding. I try to cry out but I'm not certain I have a mouth. Light, startling, so bright it hurts my eyes and I'm in the middle of my endless nightmare. The room dirty, small and foul scented. The grip and laughter of cruel men all around me, holding me down or touching me in inappropriate ways. I'd relived it so many other nights before, but this time it seemed far more real.

I strain against my bindings, my face feels wet from the tears I realize that are now streaming down my face. I don't beg, I would never ask these assholes for an ounce of mercy that I know they don't posses, my eyes roll in a wild fashion as I try to see a way out. Fighting now I scream out Jake's name, knowing if I could somehow reach him he would save me.

Laughter and jeers from the criminals as their hands continue to touch me however they please. Chris should have been here by now, all of this should be over but still the terror continues on, my head is pounding and I feel like I might vomit all over myself soon.

Fur against my body and my eyes fly to the shape, silently praying for my russet wolf to rescue me. Lupine eyes stare silently back at me from the face of a wolf I've never seen before. She's almost golden, like the color of falls leaves or fresh amber. Even in my fear I think she's beautiful. Everything around me seems to freeze as the wolf and I lock gazes. Her eyes dark like burnt timber.

Together the wolf and I look at the man holding my left arm; he was drug dealer, suspected of murder. The smile on his face showed gold teeth. The wolf looked back at me with disgust and with a single fluid movement she lunged, her white teeth tearing into the gang bangers neck. I felt the warm spray of his blood as it hit my face. I gasped lightly; surprised when instead of revulsion I feel relief.

My face moves to the man holding down my right arm. He had been charged two separate times with armed robbery, he enjoyed taking his frustrations out on his wife, but she would never turn him in. The wolf laid into him next, tearing off one arm before ripping the heart from his chest. I watched in cold fascination. Wondering why none of the other men seemed to react to the deaths of their friends.

The she wolf quickly dispatched of the next two men, both holding down my legs and tearing at my clothes until looking over my left shoulder the only person still alive was Ramon holding my weapon in his hand. A mean grin still painted on his ugly face. I realized this wasn't how everything had originally happened now; Ramon had been one of the assholes holding me down during the actual event. Yet now after the attack from yesterday, Ramon actually held the most significant in my mind of the five and I think maybe this was the way I'd chosen to single him out in my dream. The golden wolf stood to her full height. She was smaller then Jake in his wolf form but still larger then a regular wolf. I watched Ramon turn and the smile fell from his face at the loud growl that left the chest of the predator hunting him.

The wolf cleaved the head clean from his body. I watched it fly across the room bouncing off the wall and rolling a few feet, his sightless eyes staring endlessly at the ceiling. I was free. I moved my limbs sitting up, looking down at the sprays of blood covering most of my form. The wolf turned back to me both her muzzle and fur also stained by the red liquid. She took a step towards me and I was surprised I felt no fear.

The wolf had saved me; she had finally put an end to the scene that had plagued my sleep for the last couple of years. I looked around the room at the gore and knew somewhere inside that I would never see this place in my slumber again. That in a way I truly was finally free.

The wolf touched her nose to the side of my cheek and I smiled up at her. "Thank you." My voice sounded stronger then I had expected it, I reached out to run my fingers along her muzzle. The wolf bowed her head, almost in acknowledgement of my gratitude and to my surprise suddenly pressed her face firmly against my entire body.

I feel pleasure, completeness; I reach up to scratch the wolf's shoulder. I get a flash, a picture, sun light and forest, flowers, a brook babbling in the back ground. Still the wolf and I just sit in the middle of the horror scene only now I realize the blood is gone and so are the bodies and it's just the two of us and that seems correct. I kiss the wolf's muzzle and she licks my cheek. I want to say something, an idea that is right in the verge of my tongue, but suddenly I gasp flying up into a sitting position.

Momentarily disorientated, I thought I had been upright, but I realize now I'm in the bed in my old house and I had been sleeping. Breathing hard I lay back looking at the ceiling trying to reason out what had just happened. I feel my cheek where the wolf's tongue had touched. Blinking, realizing that the ache that had been in my heart all day was gone.

I'd almost forgotten how terrified of Ramon I was, being with Jake and the pack had chased my fears away. Yet they had returned like they had never left when I'd seen him in the station the day before. I'd almost lost myself to the terror, I was almost ashamed to admit it, but Jake had been there. This beacon of light in the darkness and he'd brought me back, but he hadn't completely chased away my demons.

I took a deep breath, pulling the sheets tightly around my shoulders, a soft smile spreading slowly across my face. The golden wolf had though, she completely destroyed the evil that lived in my heart, the monster that consumed my senses and filled me full of guilt and fear. Okay maybe I still wasn't one hundred percent yet, but I didn't feel like I was going to be seeing those scumbag's faces now for nights and nights on end.

I closed my eyes and I could vividly recall the feeling of relief I'd felt as the amber wolf tore apart the haunting images of the men who had victimized me. It made me feel strong and in control, something the memory in that room up until this point never had. I sat back up again, pushing my unruly mass of hair out of my line of vision. Wondering what had brought on such an odd turn of events in my dream in the first place. I wondered if it was Jake, if my mind was combining him with my own desire to protect myself and making it into an image I could understand. I once again lifted my hand to where the wolf had licked my face, oddly enough somehow it seemed like something more.

I shifted in the bed, throwing my legs over the side, feeling the need to rise. Looking around the room, suddenly wondering where Jacob actually was. He'd been so sweet and attentive all evening the night before but he'd also been far too quiet for him and I'd known he was planning something. I bit my lip, wondering if I should just wait for him or if I should call and confront what he was doing?

Fate answered my unasked question as the door swung open before I could actually get off the bed. The entire doorway blocked by the giant body of my boyfriend. He paused for a moment and looked surprised I was awake and up. I smiled, reaching out one hand to him and without hesitation he crossed the room to me shutting the door behind him. He fell sitting next to me on my bed his mouth pressing tightly to mine, locking us in a passionate kiss. Jake was warm and strong and smelled so good.

Maybe it was remnants of my dream but I felt very especially and oddly dominant at this moment. Reaching up with my right hand I roughly grabbed onto Jacob's hair, pulling it forcefully. I heard him let out a surprised gasp of air as pulling away I buried myself face against his neck and shoulder, an intense heat spreading between my thighs. Something about my boyfriend this morning was intoxicating me. Maybe it was all of my emotions rushing out in an onslaught of sexual energy. I tore at Jake's tee shirt, wanting his clothes off of him, desiring to feel his skin pressed against mine.

He growled, low from his chest, pushing me back, not enough to hurt me but I got the definite feeling it was his instinctual reaction to show me who was in charge. Usually I allowed Jake to play his territorial games without much interest from my end, but for some reason today I felt my jaw clench as I jostled him back forcibly. Not that it did that much to his far larger frame, but I watched my boyfriend pause, his nostrils flared as he looked at me with a surprised expression.

Jake's posture lowered, predatory, beautiful, I could see the tempered beast inside the man I loved. A wicked smile crossed my face; I felt an odd freedom, a longing I couldn't quite describe. I leaned back, my eyes never leaving my boyfriend's the challenge in my gaze still clear; spreading my legs, my hand drifting down, touching and teasing myself. Jacob tore his clothes from his frame, his eyes never leaving my actions. Then he paused again, just watching me and I sighed and cooed from the pleasure I was giving myself. I felt heady almost drunk on my sense of power, and when Jake lunged for me I met him head on, our bodies clashing wrestling for supremacy. Baring my teeth I bit my boyfriend's shoulder hard.

The sound that exited his chest was primal and inhuman, he pushed me back and up against the head board pulling my legs apart again, his gaze met mine as he thrust inside of me with force. Jake was still growling, but slowly whatever had tempered our blood started to fade, being close to one another, feeling our emotions connect as our imprint causes us to do, it started to bring us a peace. All I could feel, see and taste was him and currently that was all I wanted. My face buried again against his neck again able to feel his pulse against the soft skin of my lips, Jake nuzzles my temple his pace as he ruts inside of me slow and deliberate.

All I know is his love for me, so overwhelming and pure and real. I feel different, I feel reborn and I feel right. Gone are my self doubts and apprehensions to be replaced by the simply joy of knowing how many right choices I'd made for my life. I call out for my boyfriend as my body erupts at his touch, Jacob's own release following not that far behind mine.

Now we both collapse on the bed. Each of us panting hard, laying side by side staring into each other's eyes. I reach down to run my finger tips along Jake's slowly shrinking cock, slick from being inside me, enjoying watching him bit his lip, his eye narrowing ever so slightly in response to the pleasure at my touch. All around me is the smell of sex and wolf, I revel in it, my nose crinkles up as in an odd thought I almost want to roll in the scent and remember it forever.

Jacob was still breathing hard, watching my every expression; finally one of his large hands lifts to push my hair out of my face again so he can more clearly see my eyes. "What in the fuck was all that about?" His tone is a mixture of mirth and confusion. I pull myself up leaning on my arms, stretching my body, before turning to look at my boyfriend again.

"I don't know." A soft smile spread across my lips as I shrugged at Jake, an honest expression on my face. His eyes narrowed for a moment giving me a considering look, before he broke out into a short laugh.

"Well it's not that I fucking mind Baby, that was a fantastic welcome home, but I don't know I guess I expected you to still be a little…..preoccupied?" Jacob was adorable when he was trying to be tactful, it wasn't something he was that use to and he had to work extra hard at it. Leaning forward I nuzzled his cheek, Jake letting out a muffled happy grunt.

"How can I explain this?" I fell back over in the bed, watching my boyfriend as he gave me a curious look his brow rising at my statement in question. "I had a dream and in it a wolf destroyed the men who had almost destroyed me and now that weight isn't there anymore. For the first time in years I really am free." I could feel the glow from my eyes, the renewed hope that was contained within me. Jake blinked a few times at my words considering them for himself.

"By wolf you mean me, right?" I bit my lip at his expression trying to think how to best describe the experience I had just had.

"I don't think it was you." I let out a slow breath, looking away and back up at the ceiling. "The wolf in my dream was beautiful and almost gold. I mean I guess it could have been my mind fitting you into the event in a different kind of way, but the wolf I saw I felt like I had a different kind of bond with her." I shrugged again turning back to my boyfriend and he was studying me a clearly blank look to his expression.

"Her? Like could it have been Leah?" Jacob was trying to reason through my muddled brain images and I just shook my head in reply.

"No she wasn't Leah either. I probably just made her up Jake, to handle all the crap that had been thrown at me the last couple of days." The longer I spent out of the dream the more surreal it all seemed and the less possible.

"Lea, honestly, as long as you're feeling better I could give a rat's ass why. I just like the idea of being your hero." His voice becoming playful and seductive as Jake leaned over closer to me again, his body heat triggering a reactive need to touch him from me.

"You're always my hero, you silly man." I kissed his nose and enjoyed the huge grin that spread across his face. "Speaking of you doing things to help me, where were you this morning Mister Black?" It was now my turn to give my boyfriend a considering look, he pulled away a slightly sheepish expression crossing his face.

"Dealing with things my own way." Jake cleared his throat, closely watching me and I could see trying to gage what my mood about his actions was.

"And just how were you _dealing_ with these things?" I wouldn't chastise him; Jake was a very capable and intelligent man, who I knew had a line he wouldn't cross. I was just curious what he had done because I had the feeling he would want justice for me even if legally Chris hadn't been able to get it.

I watched Jacob straighten up, his expression so clear and strong. I felt my pulse race, when had Jake become this gorgeous, confident creature before me? It just made me love him even more if that was possible. "I found Ramon." My boyfriend's tone was even, no nonsense and I respected that. "Chris helped me, but don't get mad at him for it, he was just as pissed off as I was." I simply listened not wanting to interrupt until Jake was through.

"I roughed him up a little, showed that asshole who was boss and just whose woman he had messed with. Stupid fucker pissed himself with fear." Maybe it made me a terrible individual but I felt a slow grin of satisfaction fill my face, Jake saw it and it just goaded him to continue.

"Then I told the shit head that he had to go down to your old station and turn himself in. I didn't care for what, the fucker has probably committed a laundry list of crimes anyway, he just needed to be off the street while you're here. After we head home again the asshole can do whatever he wants because none of them will ever touch you on my land." Jake's last declaration was accented by a commanding growl and I felt my breath taken from me for a moment.

When I had met Jacob he had been so young, and unsure and immature and now the man before was completely changed. Jake believed in himself, in his abilities and in me, together I really was beginning to think the two of us could battle and defeat anything. I pulled my body closer to Jacob's a smile on my face as my lip's once again found his. He accepted my kiss without protest, his hard body pressing against my own.

"You know you're more then my hero Jake?" I leaned back as I spoke watching my boy friend's dark eyes glance down to my lips before looking at my gaze with question, his expression still hungry.

"Then what am I?" His member growing between us, pressing tight against my stomach, it was hard for me not to reach down to touch it again.

"You're the man I love with all my heart." My words were saturated with all the sincerity that encompassed my soul, the swagger fell from Jake's expression and instead was replaced with tenderness. The large man at my side gently reached out, licking his lips just before his mouth found mine again, kissing me for a moment before trailing over to my neck and shoulder.

"You know what I see when I look at you?" Jacob's face was still pressed against my body and I couldn't see his expression but the tone of his voice made me curious.

"What do you see Wolf?" My free drifted up to his hair, running through it, listening to the sound of Jake's breathing.

"I see your face when I wake up in the morning, asleep by my side, I see your tears when you need my protection, and I see your fury when I need yours. I can see the future, our pack growing and strong, your belly filled with our children." Jacob's face lifted and the intensity in his gaze struck me and I found myself mesmerized momentarily by him. "I love you more then I've ever loved anything, you make me make sense."

Yesterday for a period if time it had actually felt like my life had fallen apart. I thought I was going to break again and that there wasn't a thing I could about it. Today I realize how narrow minded of me that though process had been. Right now I could clearly see that I was not that same woman I had been a couple of years ago and that I too was stronger and wiser and that Jake made me also make sense to myself.

Our lips met again, soft and tender, which quickly became fierce and needy. We made love for a second time that morning. Our emotions overflowing into the act, both of us losing ourselves for a few moments and neither of us feeling threatened by that fact. We could never really be lost ever again, not when we had someone else guarding us so tirelessly by our side.

Afterwards we just laid together our foreheads touching, holding hands, neither of us needing to speak any longer. I didn't think a love like Jake and I had was possible. It wasn't oppressive or demanding it was nurturing and beneficial to both of us. It wasn't that great romantic drama of Shakespearean lore, it probably wasn't even a story people would talk about for the ages; but it was perfect for us and I wouldn't trade it for anything or anyone else ever. Jake was my ideal.

Time passed and I started to think it was probably time for the two of us to actually get out of bed and for me to accomplish something with my day. Not that laying with my boyfriend wasn't a wonderful way to spend my time, but somewhere in the back of mind I knew the shape shifter was still out there and presently this wasn't getting us any closer to finding out about him and while I was glad to have dealt with all of my demons over the last couple of days I also plainly knew it had distracted us from the task at hand.

I pulled myself up again, smiling at the noise of protest made by the beautiful man laying and looking up at me. "Just ten more minutes." His deep voice sent ripples of desire back through my frame. I took a breath trying not to succumb to my more primal urges.

"I'll tell you what Jake, how about we get up, get ready, have some breakfast, maybe plan out our next move and then we can spend a little more quality time together this afternoon?" I reached my hand out running my finger along his chest knowing if I don't force myself to rise I'm never going to get out of this bed. Jacob frowned for a moment, but I knew saw the sense in my proposition.

"Alright, I know we have a job to do." I escaped from the bed as Jake reached back out to grab me, giggling at the sour expression that crossed his face as he too sat up.

"That won't help us get going Mister Wolf." I playfully chided him, reaching down to pull on my underwear and grabbed Jake's shirt he had tossed off when he returned. It reached down to my knees and could almost be considered a dress on me. As I crossed the room to get a pony tail holder with which to tie up my hair I could hear my boyfriend rise and pull on the pants he had been wearing just a short while ago also.

"Mine" I smiled as just as I finished my pony tail, Jake wrapped his arms around me, pinning my frame to his.

"Always" I squeaked as the large man swiftly turned me around, a huge grin plastered on his face and kissed me hard once again. Somehow I managed to work my way away from my boyfriend eventually and we both made our way down to the bathroom. I needed to brush my teeth before I could head down and think about breakfast. Jake plodded along next to me, I think not as concerned with his dental care but more just following my lead at the moment.

He fished out his own toiletries, and I was brushing my teeth for a few moments before I turned to look at the man at my side confused. He stood tooth brush hanging out of his mouth, staring back at me clearly baffled at what my expression meant. I finished my task, rinsing out my mouth before turning back to look at my boyfriend again.

"Jake wasn't your tooth brush red?" I watched his brows knit as pulling the offending item from his mouth he looked down to see it green. Jake too finished his cleaning, rinsing out his mouth also before replying.

"Fuck if I know." He looked at the tooth brush in his hand a moment more. "I think it was, maybe?" I watched him look around his bag seeing if maybe someone else's tooth brush had been dropped in it by mistake. He then looked through Embry's while I dug through mine.

"I'm certain it was red." I couldn't start to fathom why Jake's tooth brush would have magically changed colors or why it should even matter to me expect for the fact it was a mystery which meant I wanted to solve it.

"While why don't we ask Em and Becky? Maybe one of them dropped my shit on the floor or something and was being nice enough to replace it instead of making me use something dirty." Jake was already shrugging off the oddity of the event. I sighed, realizing it really wasn't an important point and that I probably shouldn't spend too much time focused on it.

"You're right, sorry, guess that's what you get for having a cop for your girlfriend. Everything is an unsolved crime." I laughed lightly and watched as Jake tossed the tooth brush back into his travel bag.

"Like I would want it any other fucking way." I smiled as he kissed me again, gesturing with his head towards the shower. "Wanna finish getting cleaned up before we head down stairs?" I had already denied Jake once this morning and I didn't think I had it in me to do it again.

"You're a bad influence on me Jake." I pouted up at him cutely. Jacob just let out a low belly laugh.

"That's just what I like to hear."

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><p><em>So once again I find myself needing to apologize for my lack of consistent updates! I love this story and this universe and you guys and I'm sorry I can't seem to get myself in better gear to get these chapters written and on here! <em>

_Anyway I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, kind of an end to Lea's conflict with her past and a deepening understanding about her relationship with Jake. Next chapter should have a bit more into action with the shifter storyline and will be from Becky's point of view!  
><em>

_I can't thank enough both my faithful readers who stick with me through all these pauses in the storyline and my new readers who send me such nice comments about how much they are enjoying the story I am trying to create here! A special thank you to **thepixieblonde**, **possumm**, **Fanatic22**, **NewFaeTales** and **fiona1987** for all their kind words from last chapter! _


	21. Chapter 20

**BECKY**

Jake had disappeared upstairs with Lea for a while now, but somehow I was unsurprised. Eventually I heard the shower start and was happy to think maybe my friend was up and out of bed. It had been in the back of my mind all morning that I couldn't help but be concerned if Lea was going to be alright today. She had such a shock yesterday with everything that had happened at her old station and I vividly recalled how Lea had almost turned off to life after the actual attack. It had been a dark time for all of us and one I don't think we would want to re-visit.

Still Lea had seemed alright last night with Jake near, so maybe I was overly worried for nothing. The TV blared across the room from us playing one of the morning shows. My attention was drawn to Embry as he shuffled around, stopping to give me a smile before his eyes slowly drifted closed again. Whatever part of my brain was currently occupied with thoughts for my friend was being bombarded by everything that had just happened between Embry and me.

He had seemed almost unburdened after he had shared all of his errands from that morning with me. He had lain back down, his head resting in my lap, seeming to want to gather his energy before facing the rest of the day. I was glad he could relax, from the strained look about his face he needed it; but everything from the last twelve or so hours had positively left my entire world spinning.

More then maybe even I cared to admit I wanted to help Embry. I couldn't even fathom having so many personal questions about your life and people hiding the answers to them. I kind of felt badly for his mother, but at the same time, felt like the greatest thing she could have given her son was to end his quest for knowledge. She had to know he wondered about where he came from. I could understand her feeling poorly for her own choices, but it also seemed to me like she should see telling the truth to her child, who was now an adult and could handle it, was just more important then hanging onto her shame.

So in the end I couldn't blame Embry for essentially taking his life into his own hands and doing what he had to in order to get the answers he pondered. My only apprehension was the reaction Jake and even Lea would have if they found out what Embry had done and the fact I now knew. They would feel betrayed, especially Jake I think because of the fact it dealt with his friend and his family. In the same token, I knew that even if they came crashing down here right now about it I would defend Embry for his choice. I would have trouble telling Lea something that I knew could destroy her when I didn't even know if it was true.

Everything in complete honesty was a huge mess at the moment. At the same time, there was sweetness to Embry gently resting here with me. Closeness up until this morning we had not had. I could tell he trusted me a lot more now and that the fact I'd given him my word to keep his secret until he got the results of the paternity test had really been a stepping stone for us. Was I making the right choices? I think so; I hoped so, because it certainly felt like I was.

The shower upstairs shut off and after the usual amount of time for dressing I heard both Jake and Lea stomping down the stairs. I reached to shake Embry but saw his eyes were already open and looking over towards the entrance of the other couple. Embry pulled himself up with a sigh and turned smiling at me with a look of exhaustion. With so much happening around him lately I was really starting to feel like Embry might be wearing down to a frazzle. It worried me all over again and I felt myself bite my lip, trying not to comment on his appearance.

Lea entered the living room first glancing at the television before stopping to turn to me. "Hello." Her voice as she spoke to both Embry and I was soft, yet even with her muted tone I was a little shocked to see that Lea seemed fairly well composed. Jake was just steps behind her a well satisfied grin on his face as pulled Lea back against his body, Jake looked over at Embry and I.

"Well you guys haven't moved too much yet." His comment was meant in a good natured way and I couldn't help but study my friend and her boy friend across from me, wondering how she could seem so normal after something so terrible having happened to her.

"Lea, are you alright?" I needed to ask the question, I watched her expression warm at my concern.

"Yeah, maybe for the first time in a long time, I don't feel like I have a ghost from my past haunting me." Jake nuzzled the side of her head with obvious affection. I could easily tell that something more had happened, even beyond Jake's little outing that morning, but I also got the feeling Lea wouldn't want it to be a group conversation. I made a mental note to talk to her about it later.

I watched my friend's eyes look past me to Embry, concern now on her face. It didn't surprise me that his haggard appearance worried her. I just hoped it didn't lead to an exceptional amount of questioning from Lea. I'd assumed she would just be distracted by her own issues today, but she actually seemed pretty in control of everything in her life at the moment.

I laid my hand back on Embry's arm, giving Lea a silent signal that I was taking care of him. I watched her glance at my motion then back up at me, question still in her gaze. I knew Lea trusted me though and after exchanging wordless looks she silently nodded her head in understanding that Embry's current state was not to be brought up at the moment.

"Do you guys want some breakfast?" Instead Lea distracted with the topic of food, which I thought seemed pretty usual for her.

"Yes!" Jake trumpeted loudly beside her. I nodded myself, pulling my body off the couch. Embry seemed to hesitate for a moment and I watched Jake's gaze fall steadily on his friend now. Somehow I wondered if it was going to actually be possible for Embry to make it through the morning without being interrogated by someone. Lea appeared to sense her boyfriend's concern and I watched her gently pull him towards the kitchen; the two of them seemly sharing a silent conversation between them of looks and body language.

Embry appeared to finally notice all of the attention he was garnering from everyone and I watched him pull himself up a little straighter. He gave me a weak smile and I returned it, reaching down for his large, warm hand sliding mine inside of its grip. Reaching the next room, Lea was already digging through the fridge and Jake appeared to have been assigned the duty of setting the table.

Unlike other mornings there wasn't as much talk and laughter as there has been. Embry and I sat down, each taking our time to study the table in front of us. Jake finished his task and wandered back over to Lea helping her to mix up pancake batter. Further silence and then Lea finally finished the first round of pancakes bringing them to the table and Jake also settled down with Embry and me to start eating. Lea, I could see was going to make a few more stacks before she joined us, showing me she was well aware how much the men would eat.

Food was passed around and silverware was scraping against dishes as everyone at the table started eating. Lea was still standing in front of the frying pan, a thoughtful look on her face when finally her voice broke through the bubble we all seemed to currently be trapped in. "Hey Em, Becky, this might sound odd but neither of you switched Jake's toothbrush did you?"

There was this awkward frozen moment, Embry's fork poised right outside his mouth food still hanging from it. Jake just continued munching on his pancakes and I got the clear impression that this situation was drawing Lea's curiosity more then his. "I must have dropped it on the floor yesterday. I went into the bathroom and Mick was playing with it pushing it around and I figured Jake wouldn't want to use it after that. Sorry I forgot to tell you." I painted my best fake smile on my face. Jake nodded and shrugged at me, still eating.

"Don't even worry about it." His bass voice murmured around his meal. I watched Lea study me for a few moments, but I kept my expression as innocent as I could muster and after a small space of time she quietly nodded to herself before returning to cooking. Embry cast me one side long glance. Gratitude in his eyes and I let out a breath. This messy situation had just gotten more so and I had firmly planted myself into the middle of it.

Yet I still didn't regret it, squeezing Embry's arm lightly before picking my fork back up and resuming eating. Lea brought over more food before she finally sat to join us. I glanced around the table, studying the face of each person sitting with me. Even though this morning had many complications, inside a part of me clearly felt how right this seemed. The four of us together like this. Now if we could somehow just all get on the same wave length again.

We had all just about finished eating when music broke through the silence of the room. Jake pulled back a little, reaching into the pocket of his jeans and I could see retrieving his cell phone. He glanced at the screen, and I watched his brows knit together in a look of confusion. He flipped the phone open and pressed it to his ear. "Hey Chris, can I help you with something?" I watched Lea attention spring to alert and I couldn't blame her. Why would her old partner be calling her boyfriend.

We all sat watching Jake's expression. It grew solemn and grim his mouth drawing down across his face. "Yeah Lea's right here with me, we'll be there as soon as we can." Flipping the phone shut, Jake drew his hand across his face, and I could hear the growl starting in his chest.

"What's wrong?" Lea reached out for her boyfriend and I was surprised when his chair suddenly slammed back from the table. Lea pulled away swiftly a shocked expression on her face. Embry was to his feet in a heart beat looking over to his friend, I could see confusion and concern in his features. Jake took a few steps back finally resting himself against the counter breathing deeply, quickly regaining control of his temper. He and Embry held one another's gaze for a moment before Jake's eyes turned back to Lea. I realized at some point she too had stood and was waiting to see what Jake needed her to do next.

"Ramon is dead." Jake's tone was matter-o-fact, I think everyone in the room stood for a moment in shocked pause uncertain what to make of the news Jake had just shared with us.

"How?" Embry got his wits back first; I could see his own problems were swiftly being pushed aside by him again for the current more pressing matters.

"It was… the same thing that's been killing all those other people." Jake started to speak, but then his gaze falling on me, he faltered for a moment before continuing. "You know what that means, that thing was right around where I was and I didn't even know it." I watched all the muscles in Jake's torso tense and Lea crossed to him. Her touch placated him slightly and Jake's breathing started to slow again.

"This certainly puts a new perspective on things." I tried to read Embry's expression, but he seemed to be focused solely on his friend. Jake continued frowning and I really got the impression he felt like his not knowing the killer was there was a failure on his part.

"You can't blame yourself Jake. I mean how were you supposed to know some murderer was hanging out there. I mean for all you know he was someone Ramon knew. Ramon wasn't exactly a good person." My solid reasoning didn't seem to do much to help lift Jake's now dour mood. Lea looked thoughtful, rubbing her boyfriend's arm.

"Chris wanted to see us?" Lea's expression was searching. It frustrated me a little that no one seemed to be commenting on what I had just said.

"He's down at the station. He didn't tell anyone about me calling him last night because it was obviously not me that did this, but I was probably the last person to see him alive before he was attacked. He wants to talk to us." Lea nodded, turning quickly to exit the room.

"Let me just grab my purse from upstairs and we can go." And my friend was gone. Jake and Embry were still exchanging glances and I was really getting this very strong feeling that I was missing something about what was going on. That everyone else knew something about this puzzle that I was clueless about and that's why what had happened seemed much more serious then it did to me. I mean Jake had just been in the wrong place, at the wrong time I think. Yet to Jake it seemed like he should have been able to stop the murder that had happened after he left.

Lea was back within the span of a few breaths, coat on and purse in hand. Her mouth set in a determined line, Jake finally pulled himself away from the counter nodding one last time at Embry before crossing the room to her. "We'll be back." I was really trying to understand why Jake was so aggravated, but it was escaping me. I could maybe understand if Ramon had been his friend, but a part of me felt like his death should be a minor relief. The scumbag could never bother Lea again now.

Lea left the room behind her boyfriend flashing me a weak smile and it felt like my head was spinning for a moment. I thought the intensity of Lea's profession had made her life crazy before, but recently with the addition of these guys it seemed to have doubled. Embry was watching the parting couple, we could both clearly hear there foot steps pacing away and then exiting the door, before he flopped back down into the chair he had been sitting in.

"Well this is a proper fucking mess." He sighed and I felt the confused expression return to my face.

"But it wasn't Jake's fault. He didn't have anything to do with that asshole's death I don't understand why it's such a big deal?" I could hear the question and maybe slight aggravation in my tone at my lack of comprehension about anything that was currently transpiring in front of me. Embry's gaze lifted and held mine for quite some time. Just giving me a long considering look. I shifted in my seat wishing he would say something.

"It's hard to explain all the complicated bullshit of our lives Becky, I'm sorry. Just trust me when I tell you this is a lot more frustrating for Jake then it should seem." My lips pursed because I knew that was the best explanation I was going to get from Embry and once again I felt like an outsider to all of these peoples lives.

"I guess I'll have to live with that too huh?" I rose swiftly, suddenly feeling heavy. "Listen would you mind just throwing the dishes in the sink I want to lay down for a little while and I'll clean them up later." I didn't even look at Embry, just exiting the room and jogging up the stairs to my own.

What a morning, I felt like I was being drawn in several different directions. My ordinary life, my friendship with Lea, my budding romance with Embry; all pulling me to be something different for them and surrounding all of it, this unseen secret that was coiled securely around these people that were so important to me, which I couldn't penetrate or understand. I flopped down on my bed face first, just lying there for a moment before finally turning onto my side.

Time ticked by and I attempted to close my eyes but my mind was still buzzing. Somehow I was not surprised in the least when Embry's large frame peered around into my still open door, knocking lightly on the wall trying to summon my attention. "Can I come in?"

It was the first time he had actually been inside my room, which in a way was amusing. I nodded my permission and Embry strode across the floor, stopping to look around at everything before seating himself at the bottom of my bed. "Nice." He gestured around us and I could see it was his awkward attempt to make conversation as I hadn't tired to yet myself.

I sighed, feeling guilt at the fact I knew I had to be stressing out his already burdened conscious. "Thanks." I found I didn't need to force the warm expression that graced my face as I looked at the man across from me. "Embry I'm sorry if I was little snippy at the end in the kitchen down there, you didn't deserve that." I was surprised by the bitter smile that crossed the man's face looking down at me.

"Yes I did. I know how fucking aggravating we are. I really wish I could easily make things more clear for you too Becky, but unfortunately that just isn't going to happen. Our lives are messed up, maybe mine most of all and you deserve better then me." His tone was so self deprecating, any lingering aggravation I was feeling melted away and all that was left was my concern. I was up and scooting across my bed so fast that I hadn't even fully thought through my actions before my mouth crashed into Embry's.

He grunted surprise but accepted me without hesitation. Licking at my lips I allowed him to deepen the kiss, his large frame pressing against my own and we both sank back to the mattress below us. Both of us were so consumed with our emotions not only for the situations surrounding us currently but also and maybe mostly for one another. Temptation to keep pressing forward to keep taking one more step, Embry kissing down my neck, me spreading my legs apart to feel his body press against my heat in between them.

Taunting desire that we could not deny, Embry ripping the shirt from my body, followed almost immediately by my bra, his lips, teeth and tongue finding the soft flesh of my breasts teasing the nipples and causing me to cry out from pleasure. I wanted him, so badly my entire body ached with need. I couldn't remember the last time a man had affected me like Embry currently was, there was a good chance it was never.

"Embry" I groaned out his name, which he replied to with a growl. It sent a shiver through my frame that pooled in my womb, such a primal and beautiful feeling. Embry was a wild creature and I was hoping just for these few moments I could tame him and make him my own. My pants and panties slid from my body together as Embry pulled at them roughly. Panting, his frame hovering over mine I could feel the slick moisture between my thighs as the sight of the huge man above me turned me on in ways I had never experienced before.

"Fuck you smell so fucking good." The groan in his voice caused one of my own. Vaguely some back part of my brain though it was an odd thing to say, but currently my vision was only focused on the growing swell of his cock visible through his jeans and just how good he would feel inside of me.

"I want you." My voice was labored, my thighs wantonly parted to the man before me. I realized the connection we could garner in this moment was maybe what I needed from him most of all right now, to feel like I did mean something to him. To share my adoration for him with him in one of the most primitive ways I know how.

"Are you sure?" His burning gaze rose to mine even as he lowered his mouth deliciously close to the focal point of my pleasure. "I don't want you to do this because you think it's what I want Becky, or because you feel bad for me. I need you to want this because you want to be with me." His voice was tinged with desperation. My brow furrowed wondering how on Earth he couldn't realize just how deep my emotions were becoming for him.

"Embry I have wanted this from the moment I first saw you in the air port only now it's not just a physical need, I want you because I'm falling for you." Embry's gaze softened at my confession, his mouth lowering to my clit, his kisses and attention gentle and teasing, his eyes watching my reaction. I can't stop the cry that escapes my lips, as my head falls back against the pillows; I take in a deep breath trying to regain some portion of my senses and am soon completely lost as Embry mouth and tongue find the true source of my heat.

I soar, to such a height of pleasure and passion that for a moment I can't think or see I just am and the only other being that exists in the entire world but me is Embry. My thighs clamp around him as with a scream I simply let go and allow Embry to take me to a place where everything I'd been worried about all morning just disappears into a molten dream of desire. Panting, feeling the pleased grin on my face as Embry leans up, kissing my lips I taste myself and him. We taste good together, right. The large man leans back for a moment just watching me before with a whine of need he rips his own shirt from his body.

His frame is as chiseled and perfect as Jacob's had been that first morning he had wandered into the kitchen shirtless. I also noted somewhere in my mind that Embry had exactly the same tattoo Jacob had in the same place. I wanted to wonder why, but Embry was undoing the front of his pants. Pulling them down a groan of desire left my mouth. His cock stood ram rod straight pointed at me, dewy with pre cum. Embry watched my reaction to him, stroking himself watching me squirm as I couldn't hold back my need to feel him inside me.

"I want you Embry." I repeated my plea from earlier and he smiled. It was probably the cockiest grin I had seen him make so far, but it quickly fell as he leaned in closer, kissing my cheeks, my chin, my nose and finally just looking into my eyes for a few moments.

"I want you too Becky, more then I have ever wanted anyone ever before." A realization had crossed Embry's face and I looked up at him curiously. Lowering his mouth to right next to my ear Embry whispered. "I'm falling in love with you too." He thrust into me just as he finish his proclamation and it was like my heart and my body filled up with him at exactly the same time. We both paused for a small expanse of time, just enjoying the feel of our bodies joined as one. I moved my hips first, giving Embry permission to continue, I needed him to finish now.

We made love in slow strokes, each of us thoroughly learning from and enjoying the other. Embry started on top of me, but half way through flipping me, so I was straddling him. He just held my hips watching me through half closed eyes a look of pleasure and devotion on his face. I kissed him, enjoying the way my breasts felt dragged along his hard chest.

Finally the intensity between us building Embry flipped us once more and began to thrust into my body with greater speed. I held on to him almost as if for dear life, my whole frame on fire, from both his heat and the building explosion inside of me. I screamed out again as I came, Grabbing his arms fiercely my body arching up against his.

Embry thrust into me a few more rough times before crying out hoarsely I felt his seed fill my womb. He was panting and sweaty, his hair clinging around his face. He looked so gorgeous and feral and he was mine. Another shiver of pleasure racked through me at the thought.

Embry collapsed by my side just staring at me for a few moments, his expression thoughtful before he kissed me again, pulling my body in close to his. "That was much better then what you write your books."

I blinked for a moment at his comment before letting out a loud laugh. "I have to leave some things out to keep the element of surprise." I smiled cheekily at the man next to me. It might not last for long but for this moment everything finally felt just right.

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><p><em>Wow, I would like to apologize that it's been so long since I have posted here. I took a break from the fandom for a while, but I genuinely really love this story and I really enjoyed talking to the people I met here so I'm going to give this a whirl again. I have rough outlines for almost the rest of the book done, there are about 20 chapters left and I hope I can get them all up here and published.<em>

_I want to thank anyone who left me new reviews and favorites and follows and for giving me little nudges that Jake was still waiting here for me to finish telling his tale! I love all comments, reviews, PM's whatever! I just love talking to people here so please don't hesitate to send me any thoughts and once again a huge thank you to anyone who is still with this piece!_


	22. Chapter 21

**LEA**

Walking down the street I was reflective on everything that had happened that day already. It was barely even afternoon and it seemed like my world had already been turned upside down a number of times, first that intense, yet odd dream; then the incredible and emotional morning with Jacob; and now this new revelation with Ramon and the shifter. I wasn't certain which I wanted to focus my thoughts on first and the fact my seething boyfriend was stalking along beside me was not helping me come to a decision.

I had tried to talk to Jake about what had happened and his emotions about the whole matter, but presently he was remaining tight lipped. I knew a lot of it was his own aggravation at himself for not realizing his enemy had been so close to him. I was trying to, for the moment at least, give him a little space. Let his hostility bleed off a little so that we could have a sensible conversation about the matter. I just kept close to Jacob and tried to keep my emotions even-keeled and calm hoping it would help him with his own.

A small thought was eating away at the back of my mind, connecting the events in my dream with what had actually occurred to Ramon; but logically I knew that made no sense. If the wolf in my dream had somehow actually done those things, if I was seeing through the shifter's eyes or something than every member of the attack against me would have been murdered. Since most of them were still serving sentences in jail I have the feeling their deaths would not have gone unnoticed at my old station.

Anyway the wolf in my dream hadn't felt like a stranger like I would expect the shifter to. It was more like when I was with Jake's wolf. I felt a connection to her, which further did make me think my mind, had somehow personified Jake in a dream form in a way I could comprehend. I sighed, feeling like I was thinking in circles and knowing that it wasn't really helping me figure anything out.

"I though I'd done something really worthwhile this morning." Jake's bitter tone caught my attention and I turned to look up at his drawn expression as we both strode along.

"What do you mean?" I stepped in front of the much larger man, grabbing one of his massive hands, staring intently up at him trying to read just what was bubbling out of him at the moment. Jacob halted, sighing loudly, looking down to the sidewalk for a moment before his gaze lifted back up to mine.

"All I'd wanted to do was make you feel better Baby. Instead I probably got some shit head killed and I was such a blind son of a bitch I didn't even know it was happening." Jacob's expression fell and for the first time in a few months he got that self deprecating look that used to plague him with doubt over his own worth. Reaching up I grabbed the front of his t-shirt tightly drawing his attention swiftly to me.

"You listen to me Jacob Black, you did nothing wrong. You tried to make me feel better and you did. I feel so safe and loved by you right now that years of pain and heart ache can't even penetrate what you have done for me. You might be super human, but you certainly aren't perfect, no one is silly. Look at it this way; if the shifter knows about you, he is probably going to be looking for you too now which will make finding him easier. You may have just given us our best way yet to actually catch him." I finished my small speech my hand dropping from where it was grasping my boyfriend's clothes to fall again at my side.

I watched Jake's eye widen for a moment before he suddenly pulled me into a tight, warm embrace. "Fuck me, what would I do without you? You're so much more goddamn sensible then I am." I couldn't help the small chuckle that left my mouth at his choice of words. Pulling away Jake brushed his lips lightly, sweetly against mine. I still wouldn't say he was happy, but now it seemed like his aggravation was being pooled back into his desire for the hunt versus Jake loathing his own choices.

"We compliment one another perfectly I think." I fondly patted his cheek, lost for a moment in the dark whirlpools of his eyes. His face broke into a stunning Jacob smile. Turning I offered him my hand, "We should probably get going though, Chris is going to be stomping around like an angry bear and I think I'll need to defuse him next." I winked at the large man at my side.

This time it was Jake's turn to break into a deep laugh and it was a very pleasant sound to hear, I hated to think about him upset about something that I really honestly didn't condemn him for in the slightest. "You just have piss poor taste in the people you choose to spend your time with." Jake took my hand grasping it tightly in his own, his gaze now twinkling with his teasing words.

"No quite the opposite, I have impeccable taste I think, all these strong, virile men so willing to protect me." I grinned a cheeky smile at him, Jake mock frowned.

"Yeah well you better remember just which one of those guys you belong to." While sometimes it did drive me crazy, at other points I found Jake's posturing rather adorable.

"After screaming your name for so long this morning how could I ever forget." I blinked up at him feigned innocence on my face. His grin grew wider; Jake was properly distracted from his earlier fury. "Come on we should get going." He nodded agreeably now, as we started walking again, this time hand in hand.

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><p>Entering the building we'd just seen Ramon in a short while ago I felt a chill run down my spine. Jacob's close heat quickly killed the shiver and then I pointedly remembered that Ramon would never threaten me again. My mouth twisted into a frown as I felt a touch of gratitude towards the killer we were hunting and in a way that emotion didn't sit well with me.<p>

The scene in the squad room was much as I'd pictured it. Chris was standing facing all the old crime scene photos taped up on a board, sleeves rolled up, arms crossed, and his side facing us. Suddenly he started pacing, glaring down the dead bodies across from him like he was willing them to give away their secrets. Next to me I could feel Jake's frame stiffen and had to fight off a chuckle as I leaned against the large man at my side. Jake wasn't used to Chris and I think he was slightly off set by his intense nature, I knew the truth; underneath it all Chris really was just a big softy.

"Those pictures do something to insult you?" I tried to keep my tone light; knowing it would combat how high strung my partner already seemed to be. Chris immediately turned at the sound of my voice and I could see his forceful blue eyes were studying me, like he was trying to read my mood from my posture.

"You seem better then I expected you to be." Chris's tone was tight and I watched as his gaze drifted up to Jacob, but I was pleased to see a flash of approval there. Looking up I could see a little of the tightness in Jake's shoulder's melt away and an easy smile found his face again.

"Yeah well life's been better to me then it has Ramon." I watched Chris's eyes narrow at my words then look around us.

"Let's step back here to talk." Chris gestured over his shoulder to across the squad room. I knew there were some suspect interrogation rooms in the back and figured it would be a more private place for us to go over everything. I nodded and was unsurprised when Jake moved right beside me as I crossed to join Chris. None of us said anything else as we made our way to one of the quarters in the back, holding our opinions and our peace until it was just the three of us together.

I hopped up on the corner of the table, Jake standing across from me leaning against the wall; as Chris shut the door behind all of us. He turned his gaze studying both of our expressions for a moment before Jake was the one that finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry." Both Chris and I looked across at my boyfriend slightly baffled by his sudden apology. Chris's brow drew down before he shook his head.

"For what?" Chris had now moved to one of the chairs at the table and flopping down into it looked up at Jake with a clear need to understand what he meant. Jake sighed loudly, shifting against the wall for a moment before crossing his arms.

"I didn't see anything. I was that close to the fucker that is doing all of this and I didn't even know it. I feel like a grade _A _ tool." Jake looked guilty and my expression melted into concern for him, but his gaze was strictly on my old partner at the moment. Chris leaned forward considering everything my boyfriend had just said for a few moments before he spoke again.

"Don't be an asshole Jake. None of this is your fault. That's why I didn't bother to mention to anyone about our phone call last night. Ramon brought this on himself by being an asshole son of a bitch. You know the old saying you lay with dogs and you're going to get fleas, well I would say Ramon got just what he deserved in the end." Chris was being nothing but honest, leaning back he watched a look of astonishment cross Jake's face before it became relief. It was then I realized that Jacob had thought we were being brought down here to punish him in someway. I really wished suddenly I could make a move to comfort him, but I knew this wasn't the appropriate time.

"So what is being said about the homicide?" I instead, spared Jake a look of love and watched him relax under my gaze, before turning back to Chris trying to steer our conversation back towards our original topic.

"Well this crime scene was slightly different from the others." I watched the muscles in my old partner's jaw twitch, further showing me how aggravating this whole day was to him. I wished I could do something to relieve his stress but I knew currently the best I could offer was some intelligent feedback.

"Explain how this one wasn't like the others?" Jake's expression had grown serious and I was glad to see his self doubt had seemed to flee with Chris's words to him. Focusing on the case would be good for all of us; it was a distraction from all of the other current annoyances in our lives.

"While canvassing the area we found what could only be described as a place where something was squatting. It was partially destroyed like the occupant was attempting to cover their tracks but it was still obvious what it was. The crime scene guys are going crazy all over it. Hopefully they will find something useful. I hate to say it but this dickhead thing attacking Ramon might be the piece that breaks this case." Chris sighed rising from the chair and pacing back to the mirror on the other side of the room. Gazing out even though I knew from this side he couldn't see the hallway beyond.

"So why don't you look happier then Chris?" If things were getting this close to the end my old partner should be celebrating not brooding like he was. I turned to look at Jake after asking my question and I could see he too was studying the man in the room with us. His nostrils flared and I'm certain reading four hundred things I couldn't because of his extra powerful senses.

"Honestly," Chris turned again to look at both of us. "This case still feels like for every one step we get forward we are thrown two back. Sure this could be a huge fucking lead, or it could mean absolutely nothing except the asshole managed to just barely slip by all of us again. I just can't help but feel like I'm not seeing the entire goddamn picture and I don't even start to know how I can."

I understood why my old partner was mad. Hell I'd even felt somewhat the same feelings when I had first met Jake and his friends, this gut instinct that more was involved, but simply not having the insight to piece together just what it actually was. It could be maddening and it made me feel guilty that I couldn't shed any light on Chris's current predicament.

"I think part of what you're missing is just what the creature you're looking for is." The steady tone of Jake's voice surprised me. His expression was cunning and I raised my brow at him wondering where he was going with this new topic.

"Now you can explain to me what you mean Jake?" Chris's mood seemed to change as Jake's words caught his imagination. Any route that could lead him to answers to his questions was readily explored by my old partner. I could tell what Jake had just proposed fascinated him.

"Well you have these animal attacks and you have a description of a guy connected with them, at least enough that he left the bar with a victim; yet you still don't know just what is actually doing the attacking and I don't think you can solve this case until you do." I fought off a half grin at the way Jake didn't use the word _we_. He and I fairly clearly knew what we were dealing with and that was why we were less confused about the whole matter then Chris was. I was proud of Jake because the way he presented this fact was very clever on his part.

"You're right." Chris's brows knit. "Sometimes I get so caught up with the human side of this attack that I tend to forget its getting preformed by an animal and one that no one can really identify either. Maybe we are going about this the wrong way. Instead of using our usual tracking methods maybe we should be looking at just how an animal like this could be in the city. See what kinds of creatures, labs, or exhibits or really anything that might be out of the ordinary would have." Chris's face had lit up again and it pained me a little inside that he still was completely not anywhere near the right track. "In fact let me go grab some lists quick of things going on in the area and we can look at them together."

Chris had turned to look at me. I knew he thought I would have a better clue of what we should be looking for then he did. Give Chris pimps and drug dealers, but he could barely tell a German Sheppard from a Husky. I stood too, something that had been festering at the back of my mind nudging me. A topic I'd wanted to discuss with my old partner and finally the opportunity had arose. "I'll walk with you Chris."

The older man gave me a mildly curious look before he simply nodded his head, understanding that I needed to speak to him and not questioning it; Jake on the other hand, slipping up from where he was leaning against the wall to stand straight again, his expression cautious. "Is everything alright Lea?" He knew me well enough to know I wanted to speak to Chris alone and he didn't understand why. I asked him silently with my eyes to give me this, that I just needed these few spare moments and for him not to do any of his usual posturing right now. Jacob could see I was serious and his jaw set, studying my face before he nodded.

"I'm going to go grab a soda from one of the vending machines; I'll meet you guys back at Chris's desk." Jake's dark gaze met my eyes for a moment, and I felt his trust. I smiled at him, once again struck but just how much he had changed since we had met, how much more self assured he was. I couldn't help at this moment but to feel a real pride in my boyfriend and a mild case of conceit that he was mine. I think Jake could sense it too because he smirked sexily at me as he pulled open the door and strode from the room.

Chris had been waiting silently for Jake and I to finish our exchange and now cleared his throat. He gestured to the still open door for me to leave first. I hopped off the table and took his offer, listening as the large man followed me out. "So what was all that about?" Chris's tone was tight and it only took him a single step for his giant stride to catch up with mine.

"Do you still carry your back up hand gun?" Chris slowed to a stop, turning to look down at me after I posed my question. He was trying to read my purpose for asking him it in the first place.

"Of course I do, but why would you need to know?" His expression was drawn and I had the feeling he already knew what I was going to ask.

"We left to come here in such a rush and it wasn't on business and taking a weapon through airport security is already such a pain in the ass. I didn't bring my gun and after what happened with Ramon," I frowned closing my eyes for a moment thinking maybe I was asking too much. "I know it's not technically one hundred percent legal Chris, but you know me and you know I won't do anything stupid. I would just feel better if I had something to protect myself." Having said my piece I know stood there awkwardly watching my ex-partner give me a critical stare.

"I could get into a lot of shit for doing that you know." I shifted from foot to foot almost feeling like I was being scolded, but I held my ground. "Anyway I don't think that massive boyfriend of yours would allow anything to touch you let alone fucking hurt you without him beating the shit out of it. You should have seen him with Ramon, Lea it was crazy." I was already nodding my head, assuming Chris was going to turn me down. I had known it was a long shot anyway.

"I don't want you to do anything you don't feel right about Chris. I just don't like to have to always depend on other people to take care of me.' I patted his arm, I wanted him to know I wasn't going to be upset with him for making the choice that made him most comfortable. Chris's mouth drew down to a line and suddenly he glanced around the two of us before he grabbed my arm pulling me down the corridor.

"Fuck you Bowen, you know I can't deny you anything. I'm almost as bad as Jake fucking is." Chris pulled me into a small office room with a computer and filing cabinets. This is where he was going to print off his information and as he knelt down to unhook the holster around his ankle I realized also give me his back up gun. Chris handed me the small caliber pistol, and I held it for a moment blinking at the larger man.

"Are you sure?" I felt guilty suddenly like I had somehow forced my old partner to do something he really didn't want to. Chris just shook his head at me.

"Honestly you're probably less likely to shoot someone then I am, and I would feel better with you tracking dirt bags around this city if you had some means of taking care of yourself. So yes I'm sure." The uncertainty had exited Chris's face and that made me feel more assured myself.

"Thank you so much Chris." I knelt down myself to fasten the ankle holster around my own leg now as Chris moved to the computer and I could hear started to type in information.

"Well just don't go on a crime spree alright." Even with his back to me I could hear the good humor in his voice and it warmed my heart. Chris got the papers he had been looking for and we both headed back out into the main squad room where we found Jake waiting at Chris's desk. I smiled at the massive man and he returned it.

Moving to my boyfriend's side I gently tickled my finger tips along the palm of one of his hands, he was looking me over and I have the feeling trying to scent out what I had just done. I nudged his side gently with my hip and grinned as he playfully growled back at me. Chris had spread all the information out he had gotten and turned to give us both a questioning look.

"So does any of the information here scream killer animal to you guys?" All three of us scanned the papers on the desk below. It was some permits for a couple of traveling circuses, a museum that was hosting an exhibit on the beauty of wild raptors including live specimens. A couple of different film crews using various live animals some of which that if I didn't know just what we were looking for already might have seemed promising. I briefly thought to mention this, but felt wrong sending Chris off a wild goose chase even if it would make him feel better for a little while to have a potential lead in his mind.

"Honestly Chris, nothing here screams giant, savage killing beast to me." I frowned feeling pity for the frustration I knew we were all feeling but that had to affect Chris maybe most of all. My old partner sighed loudly before nodding his head.

"Well it was a long shot anyway. Whatever this thing is I doubt anyone would register it in anyway; but it's always worth looking." Chris sounded slightly defeated and I gave him a sympathetic look. Next to me I noted Jake lean down a little closer to the one sheet a thoughtful look on his face.

"Actually it might not be a bad idea to check out this film here. It looks like they are using a couple of wolves in the production. If the creature is suppose to be some weird giant wolf, maybe the animal handlers will have noticed something different. Wolves by nature are pack animals and whatever this thing is that's attacking it might head towards the smell of other canines similar to itself." I looked up at Jake impressed by his deductive reasoning. He smiled down at me before glancing back up at Chris who I could see was plainly impressed by my boyfriend.

"That sounds like a good idea Jake. Thanks I'll do that this afternoon." Chris nodded and Jake smiled with what I could see was a pleased expression on his face. The next hour and a half was fairly uneventful. We all went over the maps we had been studying the day previous before my attack. Once again I made Jake copies, only this time he decided he needed another drink and walked down with me. I couldn't even be annoyed by his mildly over-protective nature because when I passed the hallway that Ramon had pushed me into I appreciated having Jacob near me.

Jake hadn't asked what I'd wanted to question Chris about yet, but I had the feeling when we got back to Becky's place he would. Finally we wrapped up pretty much everything we could accomplish that day and Chris really wanted to check out the film set that Jake had suggested. Chris said he would call me later with any news he had gotten and with the maps in hand Jake and I left the squad room and headed back to the ground floor of the station house.

We were both trying to decide on somewhere to stop and have a bite to eat before heading back to Becky's when while walking towards the front doors I stopped. A pleasant familiar face met mine. Icy blue eyes set against a light complexion and dark hair. I had a few cases I'd grown closer to then others. This boy Robert was one of them. He came from a fairly average lower class city up bringing; he had gotten mixed up with drugs. He had been raised by his Grandmother, who spoke broken English and who I found adorable. She was a holocaust survivor and I had more respect for her then I did a majority of the people I've met in my life.

Robert stopped, and started surprised before crossing to where Jake and I were. I felt the man at my side tense and low warning growl leave his throat at the approach of the other young man. Reaching down I tightly grasped Jake's hand trying to show him there was no threat. Robert's Grandmother had pleaded with me to help him and I'd dragged him out a few bad places and he had started to turn his life around when I'd left to move to Forks. I was hoping him being at the station wasn't a bad sign.

"Lea?" Surprise on the other man's face and when Jake leaned in against me I watched him glance up in shock at the size of the man with me. There was a slight pause as Jake and Robert sized one another up and Robert backed away obviously off set by my boyfriend's hard glare.

"Hey Rob." I smiled brightly, poking Jake in the side. The other man loosened his grip that had grown rather tight around me and I watched him relax, even if it was just into a glower. "This is my boyfriend Jake." I could plainly see Jacob settle down further at my identification of him, though his arm was still snaked firmly around my waist.

"I didn't know you were back in the city." Rob was still side glancing at the territorial male at my side, I think trying to judge just how aggressive Jacob was likely to become. I was pleased to see after the initial moment of posturing Jake felt in control again and had settled down.

"I'm kind of on vacation. Helping Chris with a case actually." My attention drawn to the man across from me I couldn't help but note he was wearing a civilian aid uniform. "Rob are you working here?" I couldn't keep the pleased surprise out of my voice and Robert flushed as he nodded.

"Yeah, actually I'm in school. After all you did for me I've decided I want to be a cop too and maybe change someone's life around the way you did for me." I don't know if I could express the amount of pride I felt at the moment of his comment, Rob sheepishly grinned at me.

"That's amazing Rob. I'm so happy for you." Pleasure coursed through my tone

"Good for you." Jake's tone was tight but still positive. I smiled up at him, as he tried to be supportive but I could see Robert for some reasoning was really bothering him.

"Thanks. I have to ask because I stay in touch with Chris are you helping him with that weird serial killer case?" Interest flooded Rob expression and considering the oddity of the murders I couldn't blame his curiosity.

"Yes actually, not that we have accomplished too much so far." Robert was listening intently but suddenly glanced up at the clock on the wall behind us. His expression became panicked.

"Hell, I'm going to be late! I need to run but it was great seeing and meeting you." Rob looked from myself to Jake and then with an apologetic nod started to speed pass.

"Tell your Grandma I say hello!" I called after his swiftly departing form.

"I will!" His voice almost echoed lightly behind him in the hallway he was rushing down.

Jacob's hold on me finally fell away as I heard him grumble lightly. Turning, looking at the huge man who was frowning I grabbed the front of his t-shirt and lightly pulled him down, giving him a soft kiss. As he straightened back up I could see the scowl had melted away from his face a little more. "What was all of that about?"

My tone was teasing and I watched Jake shrug as he turned back towards the front doors of the station. "He saw you and his scent of testosterone went through the roof. He likes you, you know." Jacob's expression was still grumpy and after my jealous reaction which had been much worst a few days before I couldn't even chide him for it.

"Well I can promise you _nothing _ has nor ever will happen between us. Rob is a kid I helped; who I'm happy is doing so well for himself. You, Jacob are the only man I allow in my heart or my bed." I smirked up at him with a sassy expression as I proclaimed the last part. I watched his own mouth slowly quirk into a wide grin.

"I know I guess I just like to hear you say it sometimes." Jake rumbled in his chest as he spoke and I couldn't help myself it turned me on.

"Why don't we get out of here? I'm getting hungry." I ran my fingers along his chest and this time I enjoyed the light growl that met my attention.

"I think that sounds like a fantastic idea."

* * *

><p><em>AN: So pleased I actually managed to get another chapter up in a timely manner! Glad everyone seemed to have enjoyed the expansion of the relationship between Becky and Embry last chapter, but now with this chapter we focus a little bit more on the Shifter case. Setting up a few things that will be further touched on in the next few chapters including some more insight into my version of the Werewolf mythos in this universe.<em>

_Thanks SO much to everyone that came back or just started! I got a bunch of new favorites and follows on the piece and I'm excited to see people are still reading. A huge thank you to **Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967** and **Fanatic22** for there reviews! I really missed you guys! _

_Hope everyone enjoys this chapter too!_


	23. Chapter 22

**BECKY**

I was collecting the dishes from the table, pausing for a moment; I left a soft kiss on Embry's temple. Reaching out he caught my hand before I retrieved his plate and also left a delicate kiss on my knuckle. We locked eyes for a moment, smiles shared between us. Embry and I had napped for a while after making love, held tightly within the grasp of his arms I simply couldn't believe anything else was wrong with the world. Of course eventually reality had set in, we had both woken far more rested and Embry seemed more focused then he had been earlier in the day. We had been touching and kissing repeatedly since sleeping together, yet we hadn't actually really talked about it. I knew that he had said he loved me, but when it was contained within the act it made me worried if it had been a genuine sentiment.

I wasn't really certain what I should say. In one mind I was thrilled, because Embry was being so sweet and attentive suddenly. It also pleased me greatly that I think our time together had washed away a little of the stress from all of his paternity issues. Yet at the same time I was a little disappointed that while physically we had progressed I still wasn't certain in regards of our relationship if we were in any different of an area. I wanted to believe that if we took this big step of sleeping together that it meant we had, but nothing was clear, and with everything else that was happening to Embry I felt badly adding the additional stress of asking. I also had the looming issue of the fact Embry would be leaving to go home, across the country in a little over a week. It was forcing me to take a long hard look at all the events currently and while not second guessing my choices; worrying about what I was going to do if Embry's feelings for me were not quite the same as mine were for him.

I actually welcomed the distraction when Jake and Lea came crashing threw the front door. I had texted Lea when we woke up asking her about dinner and she had told me her and Jake were just going to grab something in Manhattan. I was curious what had happened at the station and with Ramon, but when Lea didn't seem concerned in her texts I figured I would find out when they arrived home again. Watching their forms as they entered the kitchen I could immediately tell everything was alright. Lea was reading something off her phone, which I quickly figured out, was a text message from one of their friends back in La Push; Jake nearly encompassing my smaller friend with his frame as he tried to see around her to also look at the small screen.

Suddenly Lea burst out laughing and when Jake started scowling it didn't take me long to figure out it was someone teasing the large man. Still Lea touched his face with such uninhibited affection, Jake nuzzling her fingers in return his frown quickly becoming a grin; I felt a stab of envy, because these two seemed to get along so effortlessly. I wished I could do the same with Embry, but in the same token I knew they had also had their ups and downs at the start of their relationship and it was all relative. I just hated feeling so uncertain about something that was so important to me.

"Hey guys." Lea smiled up at Embry and I, I watched her studying both of our body language her gaze suddenly becoming curious.

"Hi," I swiftly picked up the last few plates from the table. "We just finished dinner; I'm guessing you guys had a nice meal?" I wanted to divert the topic before Lea got nosey. My friend's brow rose reading my attempt with little effort and with a slight nod she acknowledged I didn't want to discuss my current dilemma here.

"We went to this place that had _amazing_ burgers. When we go home I can tell you I'm honestly going to miss the awesome food this city has." Jake crossed as he spoke, flopping down into one of the other kitchen chairs grinning smartly at his comment. Embry laughed, which I couldn't help, brought a smile to my face happy to see him relaxed. I dumped the dishes in the sink, grateful when Lea crossed to grab the towel to dry as I started to fill the basin with water to wash.

"So everything worked out alright with Ramon?" Embry's tone sounded more even and less concerned then mine, or maybe I sounded the same way to him and I was just over thinking all of this in my head.

"Yeah, Chris is really cool. He knew it wasn't me, so he just didn't mention anything about our phone call." I could see Jake looked pleased, next to me Lea let out a short breath.

"You're also lucky almost the entire station knows you were one of the guys that went head to head with him to defend me the day before, so any latent DNA on him will be assumed to have come from that. Still you might be called in for some questions Jake so don't get cocky." Lea was drying a dish giving her boyfriend a considering look, he just smiled sweetly at her before replying.

"I know I didn't do anything and both you and Chris said it wasn't my fault so I'm not going to be too I worried." He winked at her and rolling her eyes Lea turned back to shake her head at me. I was relieved Jake wasn't going to get in trouble and I could clearly see from Embry's expression he felt the same, but I still had a nagging thought buzzing through my mind.

"So what about the killer were there any clues?" Being an open case I didn't know if Lea could tell me but I figured it never hurt to ask.

"They found a place where Chris said it looks like he might have been living." Jake was leaning against the table top now, exchanging looks with Embry. "Also I got new copies of the maps I lost last time we were there. I was thinking if you wouldn't mind Em, we could go looking for clues tomorrow morning?"

"Sure, sounds good!" I watched Embry nod in return to his friend, I felt puzzled and found myself looking over at Lea wondering why these two were going out and investigating without her. I was perplexed when she also seemed alright with this fact.

"Do you guys have anything in mind that you want to do tonight?" That was also the last questions I would assume Lea would ask at this moment. Once again I was left to wonder just what the relationship between all of them was and how was I going to fit into it.

"I actually think relaxing would be nice." Jake's gaze was locked on Lea again and when her eyes met his he broke into a smile.

"We could hang out on the roof. After the last couple of days we've all had that actually sounds pretty perfect I think." Embry shrugged as he made his suggestion, Jake pounded the table suddenly with his fist, startling me and almost causing me to drop the plate in my hand.

"I think that's a brilliant idea Em!" He was grinning again; Lea looked over at my surprised form with a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry about my obnoxious boyfriend. Does that idea sound alright to you Becky?" She didn't need to apologize to me, though the pout that crossed Jake's face at her words made me laugh.

"Yes it does actually. Maybe you guys can tell me more about La Push?" Getting a clearer picture of what I was getting myself into sounded like a good plan to me. Plus maybe I could get a better feel for how much of his life Embry was actually willing to share with me.

"Well let's finish cleaning everything and we can head upstairs." Lea nodded at my suggestion, clearly excited about the idea of just the four of us spending a little time together.

* * *

><p>I woke the next morning to Mick leaping up onto my bed; he meowed with an accusatory look wanting me to feed him. I pushed back my covers, patting my cat's head and yawning. Embry had opted to stay on the couch the night before. Though admittedly I hadn't actually asked him to share my bed for the night, but if he had asked I would have allowed him to. Everything was either moving too fast or too slow and I wasn't completely certain what to do. Sighing I exited my room.<p>

From the current silence of the house I was going to assume the guys had already went off on their morning investigation errand. Tromping downstairs and into the kitchen, even knowing just Jake and Embry had talked about going the night before I was still surprised to see Lea there. She was eating toast and smiled at me when I walked in; I returned the gesture and crossed to Mick's food in order to feed him first.

"Good morning!" Lea sounded much more upbeat then I currently felt. Dumping my cat's food in his bowl I sat it down for him to enjoy.

"Good morning, I'm surprised to see you still here." I now crossed to my refrigerator planning to get milk and cereal for my own meal. Lea blinked for a moment at my comment.

"Where else would I be?" She half laughed and I couldn't help it I gave her a mildly critical look.

"I don't know maybe out investigating this lead Jake thinks he might have. Since when do you sit on the side lines and let someone else do your work for you?" My tone came out harsher then I meant for it to and I checked myself knowing all my pent up frustration was coming out at the wrong time. Lea placed her food down giving me a considering look for a few moments before she answered me.

"We all have our talents Becky and I know where mine lay. Jake is a better tracker then I am and I know he will be able to find more from this venture then I would. He'll then share all his information with me and we will work together to decide our next step of action. I don't sit out for anyone." Her mouth had drew down into a hard little line and I could see she was trying to gauge why I was so volatile this morning as it wasn't like me.

"I'm sorry," my breakfast now in hand I joined my friend at the table, "I'm just uncertain what to make of all of you currently and it's making me uneasy I guess." I needed to confess what I could to my friend, because I realized I really needed someone to talk to right now.

"That is an odd comment, do you care to elaborate?" Lea bit into her toast again, while giving me an option I could tell by her expression she rather expected me to answer.

"I don't know what's going on between Embry and me." My tone sounded much more upset then I even realized I was. Lea's look became sympathetic as she realized where I was coming from now.

"Well has anything changed from the last time we spoke together?" I knew I couldn't share Embry's secret with my friend but with everything else that had happened between him and I, it really wasn't even necessary to.

"We slept together yesterday while you and Jake were gone." Lea suddenly choked on her meal, my admission shocking her. She blinked at me a few times before she summoned her wits together again and seemed ready to reply.

"I guess that explains why Embry seemed like he was in a better mood last night. So what happened, did you guys decide how you feel about one another then? I took a mouthful of cereal but it felt like a cold lump as it slid down my throat.

"That's why I am so beside myself. We didn't actually clarify anything, he told me he loved me but it was in the middle of us making love so I don't know if it was genuine feeling or just a rush of adrenaline. I mean it was amazing, the best sex I've ever had, but it leaves me to wonder if that's all it was to Embry was just sex." I needed to hear Lea's opinion on this. Currently she knew Embry better then I did and maybe she could give me some insight.

"Did you feel any different after you guys slept together?" I started, looking at my friend, thinking she was going to offer words of wisdom not ask odd questions.

"Other then maybe the intensity of my feelings for Embry, I don't think it was that different." I wondered just what my friend was getting at.

"And just what was the _intensity_, did if feel surreal like some unearthly connection?" If Lea's expression wasn't so serious as she asked the question I honestly would have thought she was bullshitting me in some fashion.

"Unearthly connection, what? Lea I know you like to tease me about how silly my books are sometimes but this is real life here and I'm really confused about what to do. This isn't really the time to josh me." I couldn't ever remember Lea acting like this when something was so serious, yet her expression seemed true, but then why would she ask such ridiculous things?

"I was just trying to get a completely clear picture, I'm sorry Becky I meant no offense by it." My friend was still studying my expression and I saw a flash of sympathy in her eyes again.

"I'm sorry if I'm coming off as really defensive, but frankly I don't completely understand any of you. Even though Embry is slowly opening up to me I can still feel this huge wall he has up and Lea you're obviously hiding something. I'm trying to be respectful of all of this, but the farther into all of your lives I get the more concerned I 'm getting for me that I'm going to end up getting really hurt. Embry means a lot to me, honestly more then I maybe even want to admit to myself, but I also don't have a clue what's going to happen when all of you leave again; If I'm just going to be completely forgotten or not." I could feel unwanted tears welling in my eyes and I fought them. Lea looked pained, sighing loudly looking down at the table like she wasn't certain how to reply to me.

"Becky you'll _never_ be forgotten I can guarantee you of that fact." The assuredness in Lea's voice oddly did not make me feel better, it just made me feel even more so like I was on the outside looking in.

"Maybe that isn't good enough for me." My tone was soft as I realized just how true my words were. I was opening my heart, why couldn't these people that were so important to me do the same. Lea looked away again, drumming her fingers on the table top, letting out another breath.

"I doubt it would be enough for me either if I was you." Her gaze flashed back to mine, her expression strong. "The problem is all of this is very delicate. I can talk to Jake…" I cut her off with a wave of my hand and Lea paused looking at me confused.

"Since when have you been the type of woman that has to ask permission to do something?" The haughty value of my voice even surprised me. Lea's eyes grew hard for a moment, before she took yet another deep breath and I watched her calm herself.

"Becky if I could tell you everything right now I know you would understand. The problem is I can't and I know that doesn't make sense to you and it makes you frustrated and angry; but it's also currently just the way things have to be; These last few months since I moved I've had to make a lot of life altering choices for myself. A lot of people depend on me now and as much as I love you and the plain fact you are almost like my sister, I can't put my loyalty to you above the safety of so many others." The cryptic tone of Lea's words didn't do much to sooth my rattled senses, but the seriousness of her expression did. The two of us had known one another for a long time and I knew she wasn't the kind to over-dramatize matters and if all of this was as important as she was making it out to be I had no choice but to in the very least respect that.

"What if I talk to Jake?" How Lea's boyfriend was the key to everything I had yet to figure out, but I was quickly learning that my friend and Embry seemed to answer to him.

"I think it will be better if I do honestly. I just know him better." Lea's expression had become earnest and I was about to protest more when we were interrupted by the blaring ring of Lea's cell phone. I pouted a little, annoyed as she looked at the screen and with an apologetic gesture took the call. I sat silently as she conversed with who I had to assume was Chris.

They talked about his visit to the set of some film he had taken the day before and how it hadn't resulted in much in terms of clues. Then Lea started to explain that Jake and Embry were out and she gave an overview of what her boyfriend was hoping to find. Chris asked her a bunch of questions but by this point I was only half listening. The phone call went on for a while longer, I ate my cereal and finishing walked my plate over to the sink to rinse it out. Leaning against the counter, I listened as Lea finished her call and hung up. She turned to look at me her expression now unreadable.

"Chris seems as surprised as you that I didn't go out with the guys." She sighed loudly and I couldn't help but frown at her.

"You're not the same." My statement was blunt. Lea's eyes suddenly darkened and I saw her scowl.

"Of course I'm not the same; my whole life has changed since my move. I'm trying to be understanding here, because I know how frustrating trying to figure out Jake and his friends can be, but at the same time I'm not certain what you want me to do?" The sharpness of her tone caused my fire to back down a little. I realized I wasn't being completely fair to my friend and while certainly not placated, I could at least attempt to see her side of the situation.

I opened my mouth about to speak when suddenly Lea's phone rang out again. She growled, much the same way Jake and Embry did when they were annoyed and it almost made me laugh. Looking at the screen of her cell, Lea's expression became confused as she answered it again.

I listened to her phone call. Knowing if she wanted it to be private she would either leave or gesture for me to. Lea seemed hesitant in her speech and after a few moments I realized she was talking to Rob. I vaguely remembered the kid from when Lea was on the force. One of her really tough luck cases that she had probably made much more personal then need be. Once again I was left simply standing there while my friend carried out her conversation.

Finally hanging up Lea looked down at her phone for a moment her expression baffled, before her gaze lifted back to me. "What was that all about?" The immediate situation distracted me at the moment from my own annoyances. Lea kind of shrugged before speaking.

"Remember Robert?" I nodded a confirmation that I knew who she was talking about. "Jake and I ran into him yesterday and he just called me. Seems his Grandmother knows something about the case I'm working on with Chris and wants to talk to me about it." I now understood why Lea's expression was clearly confused, as I felt the same at her explanation.

"What that makes next to no sense?" I could feel the annoyance slowly sinking back into the recesses of my mind with something new to focus on.

"I agree, but Rob seemed really serious about it. Said he mentioned to her last night that he saw me and that I was here helping with those killings. As soon as she realized that his Grandmother started bothering him non-stop to speak to me about it. She won't tell him why, but she said it's very important." Lea tossed her cell up on the table now, shaking her head as I could see she was trying to reason out what this woman could know.

"Are you going to go?" I couldn't help but ask the question because now I was also kind of wondering what Robert's Grandmother could add to the investigation.

"I don't think I really have a choice to say no."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Good news is I have another chapter up pretty pronto this time! Bad news is I start school back up this week so my postings may become slightly farther apart, but I am going to do my best to keep up with this! <em>

_Becky is starting to get to that same point Lea got to in the last story about being kept out of the loop and I actually enjoy seeing Jake and Lea being kind of put in a similar situation to Sam in the last story. Also I am really curious to see what everything thinks about what's going to happen with Robert's Grandma because it's going to be interesting!_

_New favorites and likes last chapter so a heartfelt "hello" to everyone new reading this piece. Thanks _**Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 **_for your faithful reviews! I always look forward to them! And a big thank you to _**PastOneonta** _for all the reviews for this book you wrote! They were all so insightful and fun to read! As usually anyone have any comments or questions or anything feel free to review or drop me a PM, I love talking to people on here!_


	24. Chapter 23

**EMBRY**

Jake and I had been searching alleyways and side streets for a couple of hours now, looking for any hint of the scent of the shifter or really any clue that seemed out of place for the setting. Jake was teaching me how he connects more closely with his wolf to allow him to use his heightened senses while staying in his human form. It was surprisingly simply once I tried it and I realized how much my wolf already desired this link. That I think it's something he has been striving for between us that I hadn't even seen. Jake had talked about how ashamed we had all been about our ability to shape shift for a long time. I could see what a clear statement that was, how we blamed our supernatural abilities for so many of our problems. Honestly they probably did heighten certain issues for us, but overall I don't think any of us had seen the full scope of just what we could also accomplish with them until now.

Watching Jake he had a certainty now, he didn't avoid who he was but instead he controlled it. He was accepting the wolf and it was giving him a better balance. We really had been two beings warring within our one frame; by instead working with our canine side we became united and powerful. Remembering a lot of the stories of the older packs, the ones that started our tradition I was truly starting to believe this was how they lived with their power. They loved the wolf side of them and I could see now how doing that could really bring you a kind of peace.

Still part of me was on edge. The closer I got to my own canine side the more I felt like he was reminding me of my transgression. Thankfully even when opening ourselves to the powers of our wolf, if we were in human form we didn't have the pack telepathy, because currently my mind was so muddled over everything that I don't know if I could have focused enough in order to keep it from all spilling out. Kim hadn't called me yet, which didn't completely surprise me as it had only been a day, but he seemed to think this would be a fast process and the sooner I got my answers the quicker I could start deciding what I wanted to do with them.

Then there was Becky, I hadn't even fully processed to myself what had happened between us. I could tell Jake knew something was up too, because he'd given the both of knowing looks the evening before when he returned home with Lea. I was happy he had been tactful enough to not just come out and ask, but during each silent period this morning I kept waiting for him to bring something up, truthfully I maybe even wanted him too because I needed someone to talk to about everything. I realized I'd wanted changes in my life and I feel they were pouring in now for better or worst.

I'd finished my evaluation of an alleyway between a couple of restaurants, scenting nothing more fascinating then the fact the one had to be infested with vermin, grimacing I made a mental note that we better never eat there. I could feel my wolf twitch inside of me, curious, annoyed our hunt had been fruitless. Mostly I could feel his pleasure at our close connection and it brought a sort of wild bliss to me also.

Walking back out onto the street, glancing around my position to see if anyone was looking at me I found most of the people in the area didn't even seem to register I was there. I could see a certain appeal to big city life versus small town living, purely because of the simplicity at being able to blend in. Still I couldn't picture maintaining a pack here, being closed in by all the concrete, the air stifled and the stars hidden. I felt like the wolf part of us would eventually wither.

I scented my Alpha before I saw him, Jake had been down the block a bit checking out the basement of rough looking building. From the expression on his face as he neared me I was guessing he'd as much luck as I did. I waited until my friend got close enough for us to converse. "I think we've done all we can this morning Jake. Maybe it's time to head back and rethink this strategy?" It was clear we could continue blinding checking places until the end of time, but questionable if we would ever find anything.

"Yeah you're probably right." Jake sounds tried and annoyed, I couldn't blame him we had both been hopeful for some kind of break by using Chris's maps. That especially after Jake's near encounter with the shape shifter the day before, that maybe we really were closing in. Yet now it kind of felt like somehow we have ended up back at square one again and neither Jake with his cunning nor I, with analytical logic had an easy answer.

Both of us lost in our thoughts Jake seething after the failed hunt and I, drowning almost in the current miasma of my life, started the walk back towards Becky's house. For a couple of blocks neither of us spoke and I quietly observed the faces of people we were passing, seeing if any of them seemed out of the ordinary or stood out to me in anyway.

"So are we going to talk about Becky?" Jake's blatant question drew my eyes back to his face. He was giving me a considering look, I could try to avoid the topic, but already knew I had no desire too and like I'd been reflecting on earlier actually probably relished the chance to at least get this confusing part of my life out in the open.

"The two of us have been getting closer." I was trying to sort out the words to describe our current feelings.

"No shit." Jake gave me a-lop sided grin and I could feel a short laugh burst out of me. "I would have to be blind, deaf and dumb to not see something had happened between the two of you yesterday while Lea and I were gone." I felt my own smile spreading across my face remembering vividly how incredible the afternoon before had been.

"Getting to know Becky has really been great honestly, she understands me better then almost anyone else I've ever met." I really did feel like the best thing that has come out of this trip for me was getting a chance to meet this gentle woman, who has so thoroughly embraced me, even being the confused, screw up I currently was.

Jake was silent for a moment, just scrutinizing my comments and my expressions. His brows bunched together in though as clearing his throat I had the feeling the topic was about to take a slightly more serious turn. "Did you imprint?" I understood now why my friend hesitated to ask the question, when I hadn't supplied the information right away, he probably assumed I didn't want to talk about it.

"No, we didn't." I stopped in my tracks for a moment, considering my feelings about that matter. Realizing I hadn't really though that much about it up until this point. I'd been so excited about what had happened between Becky and I, what hadn't seemed secondary.

"It doesn't fucking matter either way." I was surprised by the sudden conviction in Jake's tone; I turned to look at my friend with confusion. "If you two really care about one another, it doesn't make any difference if you're imprinted. I would love Lea regardless of what bullshit connected us. The important thing is how Becky makes you feel Em, not the mechanics behind what makes those feelings show up between the two of you."

"You know what's funny Jake?" My friend quirked his brow at me a questioning expression on his face, "it honestly hadn't even really occurred to me that we hadn't imprinted, Becky and I make so much sense without it that it never even dawned on me that it hadn't happened." For the first time that day I felt a real genuine smile on my face and it didn't surprise me that it was Becky that had put it there. Seeing my positive reaction caused Jake to grin also, nodding his head with approval.

"That's all that matters to me Em, is that you are happy." Jake slapped my shoulder as we both started walking again. We were quiet for a few moments before I allowed the one egging fear I'd been thinking about since yesterday finally appear.

"Though I'm not certain what I'm going to do when we go home." From the look that crossed Jake's face I could see he'd been concerned about the same thing.

"Well you just have to convince Becky that maybe La Push is a better place for her then New York City. With you and her best friend there, it probably is." Jake sounded confident with his suggestion, but I felt like he was missing one big fact.

"Yeah but what do you think she will do when we tell her what we are?" I broached the second topic that was bothering me. I watched Jake take on a distinctly uncomfortable look.

"That's the one thing I don't know Em, Becky has a real close tie to the public eye. I'm not certain how comfortable I feel with her knowing our secret without a lot of time and consideration being taken over the matter." I side glanced at my friend, feeling my wolf growl inside in warning.

"Wow way to sound like Sam, Jake, thanks." My tone was harsh and I knew it, Jake frowned at me, his gaze looking down at the street.

"Well maybe I do understand better now were Sam was coming from in a way then I did before. I have a lot of people's lives and safety hanging over my head Embry and the simple fact is I did know Lea a lot better before she found out then you know Becky right now." I sighed seeing some logic in what my friend was telling me but still feeling ripples of annoyance.

"But Lea has known Becky for forever and she trusts her explicitly, shouldn't that count for something?" I really didn't know how I felt about Becky finding out I was a werewolf but I did know I was starting to get sick of having secrets from everyone.

"Look Em, I would love for Becky to eventually be able to know everything and for her to come back to La Push with us and to be completely honest not just even for you, but also for Lea. Yet I need to remember my responsibility to our pack and handle all of this the right way." Jake's expression was so serious and it really made me see how much being Alpha had changed my friend.

"Sorry, I'm probably jumping the gun with all of this anyways. I mean I'm hoping Becky would even want to come with us, but she has a good life here and maybe I should consider if she is willing to even up end everything for me before I start yelling at you about telling our secrets." I sighed deeply, running one of my hands back through my hair, trying to be reasonable about everything and knowing it was not the easiest frame of mind for me to accomplish.

"Don't worry about it Em. I sympathize relationships are confusing." I turned again, studying my friend after his reply wondering what thoughts had brought about that comment from him.

"Except you and Lea are pretty much perfect for one another?" I couldn't help the slightly critical tone to my voice. Jake glanced back over at me, his expression suddenly becoming sheepish.

"I know, I shouldn't complain and really I'm not. It's just, I don't know Em, I'm trying to decide what my next step should be." My usually confident, swaggering friend seemed at a loss at the moment, I couldn't immediately reason out why.

"What choices are you looking at Jake?" Everything had seemed to be going so well between my friend and his girlfriend. Sure Lea had battled a major hurtle in her life, but Jake had been the one to help her through it. Had I missed something key happening while I have been weighted down so heavily with my own bullshit? I searched Jake's face for clues; he appeared to be trying to put off actually answering my question. His jaw tight, he suddenly let out a deep breath and turned back to face me. His expression was set and I could tell what he was about to say was significant.

"I'm thinking about asking Lea to marry me." His eyes examined mine as he declared his news, trying to read my reaction swiftly to his confession. I knew my jaw dropped, and then I instantaneously chided myself for not seeing something so obvious and for not realizing how my friend must have been struggling to figure out what he should do the last few weeks.

"Jake I think that's the best idea you've had in a long time. You and Lea belong together." I could feel the certainty in my tone. I was surprised to see just how unsure Jake seemed of himself at this moment, I wondered if he thought Lea would refuse him?

"I didn't think I was good enough for her Em. I don't know if I ever have, until this trip. I really have started to see what I've done for Lea and just how important I am in her life and I'm starting to actually think she might say yes to me." The hope in Jake's voice, it made me painfully aware of just how much he has worked to change his own life around and how I seem to continue to allow mine to sit stagnant in the pool of my questions about my past. Maybe Kim was right; maybe I needed to focus less on what was and more on what I could have.

"Jake you asshole, Lea always would have said yes to you. That girl loves you so much, sometimes it makes Quil and I sick." My tone was teasing and I watched the smile that slowly spread across my Alpha's face.

"I want to wait until we get home to do it. It seems right for us to be in La Push, with our pack when I ask." It really dawned on me then the amount of thought my friend had actually put into this. That he probably has been thinking about it since before our trip and I hadn't even noticed.

"Well I don't know what I can do, but anything you need Jake you know I'll be happy to help." My sentiment was real; slowing to a halt yet again I slapped Jake on the shoulder.

"Well if she says yes, I'm really hoping you'll be my best man Em?" I remembered the smile that now graced Jake's face. I used to see it all the time before we started shifting, when Jake had been so full of aspirations as a kid. I pulled myself up straighter; not even trying to hide the pride on my face at the fact Jake would want me to stand at his side on such an important day.

"I would be honored to be your best man Jake and _if_, please how could Lea not say yes? You really are such a shithead sometimes about not seeing what's so obvious in front of you." I felt laughter burst out of my chest and it felt good, it was the way Jake and I used to be.

"Fuck you Embry." Jake's words were harsh, but the grin on his face told me just how much my observations pleased him. I would have liked to lecture my friend about how he needed to stop dwelling on the bad things that had happened to him in the past and just realize how good his life was now and that it wasn't going to change; only coming from me that would be one huge cosmic fucking joke. So instead I just smiled back at my Alpha and for the first time maybe genuinely really hated the lie I had thrown between us.

Silence fell between Jake and I again as we continued our walk down the street, we were approaching Becky's home now and I realized I was actually really looking forward to relaxing there. It was comfortable to me now, even if the rest of the city still seemed oppressive. "Maybe Jake, you could try to nonchalantly ask Lea how Becky is feeling?" I wanted to talk to Becky about everything, but after she really didn't say much following us sleeping together, I got tongue tied and awkward, not certain how deeply she was feeling.

Jake stopped before the steps that lead up to Becky's door giving me a serious look once again. "I will if you want me to, but if I have learned anything from Lea, you're better off talking to her about it yourself. Women like honesty, I have discovered I can do all kind of stupid shit and as long I'm completely honest Lea doesn't get that mad at me." I think Jake thought his words were sage advice because he related them to me like they were absolute pearls of wisdom; I didn't have the heart to tell him that should be common sense. Yet I knew Jake was right and that I needed to speak to Becky myself I just would like to maybe have ground work laid out to know how serious she felt before we talked, so I don't completely throw myself out there for no good reason.

"I'm planning on talking to her already Jake trust me, just any insight into her thoughts would help me decide how to best frame my approach." Jake considered that for a moment before nodding.

"Must be nice to have a sounding board, instead of struggling blindly like some of us assholes," Jake grinned again as he stomped up the steps. It eased my mind a little to know he was going to help me out, but I still couldn't help gently ribbing him.

"Yeah I feel real bad for the guy with the absolutely perfect fucking relationship, let me get you some tissues." I couldn't stop the laugh in my voice this time and Jake turned letting out a playful growl as I threw open the door.

"Fuck you Embry." He repeated hotly, the swagger I noticed having returned to his step since his confession earlier. Jake didn't even bother calling out, I watched him scent the air and knew he found his mate and just moved towards the room she was in. Lea was curled up on the couch under a blanket watching an action film on TV. Becky I noted wasn't there and I felt mild apprehension surge through me.

"Hey Baby." Jake flopped down on the couch, grabbing Lea and pulling her into his lap, burying his face in her hair and I could plainly see inhaling her scent. He rubbed his chin against the top of her head for a moment, looking around the room before his eyes landed on me, shrugging a little. "Where's Becky?"

I think Jake asked the question so that I didn't have to. Lea I noticed relaxed against Jake's wolf heat, getting comfortable before replying. "She said she had a lot on her mind, she went for walk and probably my best guess to stop at the bookstore." Lea's eyes drifted over to me and I could plainly see she was gauging my reaction to the news which told me Becky had shared our tryst with her friend.

"Is she alright?" I watched Lea note the concern in my tone, her mouth drawing down into a line with thought.

"You need to talk to her Em, about what's going on between the two of you." I watched Lea pause and I felt maybe she had something else to add, but stopped herself. Instead she just buried her nose against Jake's shoulder.

"I know," my tone was sheepish. "I guess I was hoping to find out how she felt first." Sighing I crossed and finally dropped into one of the arm chair in the room.

"You boys really do expect us ladies to do all the work." Lea's voice was chiding but in a joking way. I could feel blush rise to my face but next to Lea, Jake snorted. She turned to raise a brow at her boyfriend and I felt myself push away a small grin as Jake tried to appear innocent.

"Give me a little time to think about what to say and I'll talk to her." My brain hurt; currently I just had too much weighting on my mind.

"Hopefully you'll do a better job then I did this afternoon." I watched Lea's expression fall, but she didn't expand any further on what had happened. Jake nuzzled the side of her head, worry for Lea in his expression. "Speaking of earlier today," I watched Lea look up at my friend studying his expression. "I have news I'm not certain you will like." I watched Jake's eyes narrow with suspicious as he studied the woman sitting with him.

"And what would that be?" Possibilities flashed through my mind as Jake asked and I hoped everything was alright at home.

"Robert called me." Lea didn't even get a chance to finish before the growl tore from Jake's chest. My wolf actually balked at the open feeling of hostility that rolled off of Jake. "It's not like that Alpha wolf." Lea was rolling her eyes as she patted Jake's chest, I could see attempting to calm him.

"So why did he call?" Jake's tone was tight and I recalled that Robert was the guy him and Lea had run into the day before, from what they both had said he hadn't seemed like any kind of threat to warrant this reaction from my friend.

"His grandmother wants to talk to me." Jake and I exchanged confused looks at what Lea had just shared with us. I ended up speaking first.

"Why?" I asked the question I think both my friend and I were thinking.

"Not one hundred percent certain. Rob said she has some sort of information about the shifter case and she only wants to speak to me, but I of course told him I couldn't come unless I brought Jake with me." Lea smiled up at my friend and I almost laughed at the glower that was still on his face.

"What the fuck could she know?" Lea shrugged at Jake's question.

"That's why I want to go; I kind of want to find out." Jake was still frowning but he nodded in agreement with Lea's decision.

"Sounds good to me," Lea smiled up again at his gruff demeanor, before turning her attention back to me.

"And maybe you could take the chance to talk to Becky Embry? It would probably be good for both of you." Lea's tone was pointed and as nervous as the thought made me I couldn't disagree.

"I'll try to decide what I want to say."

* * *

><p><em>AN: I am really excited for everyone to see what Robert's Grandma is going to say and apprehensive because I really hope everyone likes it!<em>

_School is kinda nuts this semester but I want to try really hard to keep my updates within at least two weeks of one another if I can! Thanks to everyone with for your understanding, I know I just returned and you probably wanna know whats going to happen so I will continue to try my best!_

_Want to thank _**Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967** _for your review! I always look forward to it every time I post a chapter! And **PastOneonta** thank you for always sharing your thoughts and insights, it just makes me even more excited to keep writing to see what you think next! Also **grandprincessanastasiaromanov5** sent me the nicest PM thank you!_

_Hope everyone enjoys this chapter and lots of thoughts shared between our two favorite werewolves! As always please free me to review or PM me any thoughts you have I love hearing from and talking to everyone on here!_


	25. Chapter 24

**LEA**

I was laying in bed reading, one of Becky's earlier books. Feeling guilty and uncertainty as I thought about her and Embry and what I was suppose to do about the situation. As Becky's friend my responsibility was to finding the best option for her to experience the least amount of confusion and pain. As Jake's girlfriend I also had a heavy weight of the safety of our pack. I didn't believe that Becky would ever betray our trust, but in the same token in my line of work I've seen a lot of people do crazy uncharacteristic things when faced with extreme situation. Finding out werewolves were real suddenly could quality as a mildly insane happenstance.

Jake was showering, he'd pouted when I'd declined to join him, but I'd just needed a little alone time to collect my thoughts. Half of our trip was over already and I felt like we hadn't accomplished anything except adding a huge burden to my friend's life. I genuinely hoped Embry would talk to Becky, I think if the two of them could at the very least hammer out their feelings for one another it would be a good start. I had to give Jake credit he wasn't good at hiding what he felt from me at all.

I tossed the book lightly on the floor, realizing I hadn't been concentrating on what it actually said for at least fifteen minutes. On top of my worry for the couple in the house with us, I was also wondering what Rob's grandmother could want. The two of us had gotten along very well back when I'd been helping Robert go straight. She was one of the sweetest old women, I just had no clue how she could in anyway be connected to something as horrifying as what the shifter was doing.

We just needed some sort of break at this point. I wasn't certain how I was going to leave the city if we haven't resolved these murders by the end of next week. I couldn't leave Chris alone with this, yet I also had obligations to Charlie that I couldn't just throw away either. I flopped back onto my pillow letting out a sigh; I realized I was also aggravated. This might be the hardest case I've ever faced.

The door creaked open as I lay like a lump on the bed. Jake plodded in; he was wearing nothing but light grey pajama bottoms, his raven colored hair still damp from his wash. He paused to consider me, his gaze softening as he could easily read my guilt and confusion. "You look like shit." His tone was gentle in contrast to his words. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my chest at his comment.

"Thanks Jake, that observation makes me feel much better." I pulled myself back up into a sitting position; it was hard for me to stay upset when Jake was with me. Even if everything was weighting me down I always knew how lucky I was to have found someone as incredible as the man standing across from me.

"What's wrong?" Jake sat next to me on the bed, I think he already had a pretty good idea about what was bothering me but probably wanted to hear the words for himself.

"I feel so out of control of everything happening around us right now and I hate it." I was plain with my boyfriend, we had moved beyond the point of sugar coating things for one another. I watched Jake sigh, looking at me with a kind of regret that tore at me for placing it there. Laying back himself now the large man gestured for me to slide up next to him. I didn't hesitate as I compiled, leaning on his chest and just listening to the steady beat of his heart for a few moments.

Jacob reached up, running his fingers through my hair, tugging lightly on the curls. "We'll get through this." My head rose blinking at just how assured he sounded. His gaze was steady and for him calm, for all the calamity of trip it had also I think brought an even greater strength between my boyfriend and I.

"It shouldn't make me feel so much better to hear you say that." I stretched out languidly against the hard body of the man I loved. Jake's eyes narrowed for a moment at my words his expression playful.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I could tell he was trying to cheer me up and I couldn't help it, being with him it was working.

"I've never felt the security in my ability to depend on someone else like I do with you Jake, it's remarkable and new to me." I reached up to tickle his abdominal muscles, and grinned as he growled lightheartedly at me. Jake lifted his hand, indicating with a finger that he wanted me to move closer to him. The smile growing wider on my face I straddled my giant man's lap, grasping the back of my head, Jake pulled my down into a kiss. His intense body heat and the musk of wolf, Jake intoxicated my senses.

He was pulling my hips down hard against him, leaving no possible way for me to be able to miss his cock, swelling and growing between our bodies. I realized that maybe just losing myself within my love for this man for a expanse of time was maybe just what I needed right now. I had tried brooding and that hadn't accomplished anything. Maybe a distraction would clear my muddled head.

Reaching down I started to pull on my top, my next move going to be to remove the clothing item over my head. I let out a surprised breath of air as breaking away from me Jacob easily flipped me onto my back stopping me mid-movement from my action. The large man had pinned me to the bed, his gaze warm, and his eyes intense with desire. I looked up at him mildly baffled why he had stopped me from shedding my clothes.

"I love you." His voice rumbled in his chest and I felt my lips curl up as emotions struck me like a lighten blot.

"I love you too Jake. No matter how confusing everything else is, you at least make sense to me." My body strained against my boyfriend's grasp as he leaned down his lips lightly brushing mine again, before burying his face against my neck he gently nipped at my shoulder.

"I feel like this trip has changed a lot of things for us." Jake's serious tone surprised me as his face rose to look at me again, I considered his statement.

"I agree, I honestly never thought I would find the bound and connection, the simplicity of the way we understand one another like I do with you Jacob. I've always taken care of myself; I didn't think I had any other choice. I didn't think a man like you actually existed." I watched Jake's lips purse at my comment before he let out a good natured laugh.

"A guy like me? A loud mouthed, asshole werewolf, yeah I'm surprised I exist too." He couldn't fool me, Jake's words might have been unflattering, but from the pleased gleam in his eye I could see he was enjoying every single thing I was saying to him.

"You're an idiot." The laughter was plain in my voice now. I had to admit I was impressed, Jake knew just how to turn my entire mood around and so effortlessly. Finally he loosened his grip on my arms flopping down on the bed next to me, wrapping his giant frame around my small one.

"That sounds like a more truthful description of me." I flicked his nose with my fingers as he spoke and once again he playfully growled at me, this time nipping at my hand. "I never thought someone would choose me." Pulling my body close to his, Jacob's mood changed with the speed of a burning fire, his expression and tone becoming solemn. My brow creased and for a few moments I just listened to him.

"I've always felt like the runner-up pretty much all my life. Maybe that's why I try so hard with people, because I want to be important to them. I don't even need to push myself with you though, I know now I'm the most important person in your life and that I'm as vital to you as you are to me." Jake leaned in closer to me as he spoke the last few words, his statement ending in his lips meeting mine again. My eyes fluttered closed as I lost myself to the man next to me. He was right, everything he had just said. He was the most important person in the world to me and up until Jake I don't know if I could have admitted that about anyone.

Confessions finished, this time Jacob did not stop me as I reached down and into his pajama bottoms, my hand easily sliding past the elastic and grasping his hard member, stroking him lightly at first teasing his swollen head with my finger tips. I purred against his mouth as he own large hand drifted down and into my pants, slipping into my panties and finding my clit rubbing it gently in time with my attention to him.

The air felt electrified around us, my grip on Jake tightening as his fingers tickled down and two slide inside of me. It was almost a contest to see who would break our kiss first, both of our hips bucking against the attention of the person teasing us, neither willing to forfeit the control to the other. Jake's hand that currently wasn't already sweetly torturing me, slide up inside my shirt, the rough calluses on his palms rubbing against my already hard nipples.

I wanted him; I needed Jake at this moment. He was the only man I willing felt the need to succumb to; I had never felt as feminine or as powerful as I did in Jacob's arms. I finally broke the kiss between us, panting, biting his shoulders and neck as sounds of pleasure ripped from my throat. "I want you Jake."

Jacob thrived on the control, my challenge and my submission, maybe it was his wolf, but it could drive him into a frenzy. Our hands were now tearing at each others clothes, garments flying off of us and landing wherever gravity took them. Jake roughly pushed my thighs apart, growling possessively as he thrust into me hard.

His body filled mine; I could feel every pleasurable inch of him inside of me. Jake grabbed my arms pinning them over my head, as he started to rut into my form with a wild abandon. It was incredibly it was everything our love flourished on. Physical, emotional, everything crashed between like the waves of the tides, sometimes almost overwhelming. Yet we had one another to hang onto and that kept us both a float.

Jacob was grunting his hips working hard, slamming him into me repeatedly. I was biting my lip trying to stop myself from screaming out his name, trying to force myself to remember we weren't alone in the house. I was so lost in the intensity between us for a moment that I almost didn't realize Jake was speaking.

"I want to be with you forever." Jacob usually wasn't one to make proclamations in the middle of our love making; I ground my own hips up and against him.

"You will be, I would never go anywhere Jake you have to know that." My voice was breathy and I found myself biting at his chin as I spoke.

"Everyone has to know you're mine." His pace had increased and it took me a second to answer as my body erupted in orgasm. I felt for a few moments like I might be seeing stars, the pleasure so was powerful. Breathing hard, made languid for a moment by the powerful man baring down on me, I simply groaned and whimpered, continuing to kiss and bite at my wolf before I answered.

"I'm yours Jake in every sense of the word and you're mine and nothing will ever change that." My tone was softer, my body tingling still. Jacob caught my mouth at the end of my small speech, from the force of his thrusts I knew he was drawing close to his own completion. The giant man shuttered against me as he spilled his seed into my body. A few last couple of good thrusts and Jake collapsed next to me, covering my face in kisses, the light sheen of sweat causing him to almost glow.

Jacob held me close breathing hard, his expression thoughtful but content. I felt like he maybe had more to say, but even as his eyes seemed filled with words, he didn't speak them. He just nuzzled close to me and I felt hard pressed at this precise moment to remember why I had been so upset such a short while ago.

We lightly dozed for a while, our activities having worn us both out. Until eventually I woke up feeling thirsty and it bothered me enough that I couldn't convince myself to fall back asleep. Yawning, I unwound myself from Jake's grasp; he in return faced me with a tired expression, which quickly became curious. "Everything alright?" Leaning down I kissed his cheek, inhaling his scent.

"I just want a bottle of water, be right back." I was gathering my clothes as quickly as I could find them, getting ready to venture down to the kitchen; eyes closing again, Jake yawned himself, shuffling around in the bed, slugging his fist into his pillow a couple of times, until he returned to being comfortable.

"Will you get me one too Baby." His brown eyes flashed back open suddenly, locking on mine. I smiled, unable to prevent myself from admiring his nude frame sprawled in front of me and I think he knew it too.

"Yes I guess you deserve it after all the work you just did." He chuckled loudly at my reply, and smiling I exited the room and tromped down to the stairs. The house was quiet and dark and I wondered briefly just what time it was. I tried to make as little noise as possible, but knew when I passed the living room Embry would hear me regardless. He shifted around a little as I snuck by but didn't say anything. I frowned into the darkness moving towards my destination thinking he should be up in bed with my friend.

I grabbed two drinks out of the fridge and changed direction to go back to the room I was sharing with Jake. Now that my mind had started focusing on the problems of the other two people in the house I found I couldn't stop worrying about them. I crept back up the stairs and down the hall entering my old bedroom, my eyes adjusting once again to the muted light of the night stand.

Jacob turned at my entrance, a contented smile still on his face, but I watched his eyes narrow when he noticed my expression had changed again. "You have to let them work out their own problems." I felt a flash of shame at Jake's tone. Sighing loudly I tossed him his drink as I crossed the room. Placing my own water on the bed I started to shimmy out of my pajamas again.

"I know I do, but it's hard to see them both suffering." I flopped down on the end of the bed, my expression solemn. Jacob sat up and reaching out grabbed me, tight enough to pull me to him without hurting me.

"It's bothering me too, Embry's my best friend I hate seeing him so lost right now, but he's also a grown man and there is only so much I can do for him. He knows I'm here and I have complete faith in him to do what's best for himself." Jake had pulled me back and I was laying flat, my side pressed against him, watching his expression as he spoke. I reached up to trace my fingers along his chin.

"When did you become so wise?" I could acknowledge the truth in his words, my mouth quirked up into a small grin as I asked Jake the question.

"The first moment your hot, little ass jumped out of your truck in front of me I think. I mean I had the good sense to pursue you." He was smirking down at me, before leaning over to gently kiss my forehead.

"Becky should have come with me when I moved. Things would be so much easier right now." Jacob growled as I went back to dwelling on our friend's problems. I frowned looking up at him as he was clearly annoyed I was not taking his advice about the fact I'd currently done what I could. "But it's true Jake, then Becky would know everything and she wouldn't be so upset we were hiding things from her." I had clearly spelled out now where my true guilt lay.

"We would still have to be careful sharing our secret Lea, it was different with you we were imprinted, but I don't know…" I cut Jacob off before he could finish his though with a fierce scowl.

"Why does that make any difference? Love should be love." The octave of my voice rose and Jake's eyes narrowed.

"I know that, hell I pretty much told Embry just that today, but Lea, Embry and Becky have known one another what, one week? I just feel like more time and consideration needs to be put into all of this." His tone was steady and final, I felt my jaw drop.

"So wait even if Becky and Embry do decide they have genuine, really strong feelings for one another and she wants to move to Forks because of them, you want her to upend her entire life without knowing just what she is getting herself into?" I pulled away from the man lying in the bed with me, trying not to allow my expression to become hostile.

"I'm just trying to do what's best for our pack as a whole. You as my mate should be thinking the same way." Jake's jaw set and I got the clear impression that he was aggravated with me for not seeing things in the same fashion as him.

"That's too easy of a write off Jacob. I completely agree that our pack comes first, but I wouldn't even be bringing this up if Becky wasn't someone I trusted with my own life, just as much as I trust you. Now I'm not saying anything has to be said until it's clear just how serious the two of them are and if they even want to attempt to make more out of it, but if they both decide to; I think some thought has to be put into the fact it's not fair to expect Becky to move her whole life without all the facts about what she is getting into." I held my ground, my gaze meeting Jake's without floundering. His eyes narrowed for a moment, and I could almost feel the war of wills between us.

Finally Jake broke from my gaze with a frustrated huff, looking away for a moment before his eyes flicked back to mine. "I'll talk to Leah about everything tomorrow, if we have complete pack agreement and if things work out in all the ways you just predicted I think we can consider telling Becky about our powers." Jacob lay back in the bed again, finally grabbing his drink and screwing open the top took a long shallow.

"Leah will agree with me." A part of me knew I shouldn't be pushing Jake's buttons, but I also simply could not help myself.

"You're probably right. She seems to have an unnatural talent for always knowing which side of the argument is yours and fighting for it. How in a pack of almost all men can the two of you cause me so much trouble?" My giant man was frowning, but I could also see the smirk he was fighting from crossing his face.

"I always assumed that was part of what you loved so much about me." My tone became sweetly, seductive. My hand drifting down between Jake's thighs to barely tickle the top of his flaccid shaft, he groaned, I could already feel his cock twitching from my attention.

"You're so fucking unfair." Jake could say what he wanted, but I didn't want to fight with him. I just wanted to see the huge smile that crossed his face, as turning he crushed me back down into the bed.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Sorry this still isn't Robert's Grandma! We will get to her next chapter I promise! I just started writing and realized that Jake and Lea really needed a little emotional housecleaning and the chance to get some of their thoughts and feelings out with one another and I also felt the two of them needed to have an honest conversation about Becky and her finding everything out. <em>

_Some new favorites and follows this week which is always great to see! Welcome to everyone new enjoying this story! Thank you **PastOneonta** for your review! I always look forward so much to reading the insightful and interesting things you say and you always get me thinking about my own plans for this piece! Like always if anyone has anything they want to say or share or anything, feel free to drop me a PM or write a review I love talking to everyone here!_


	26. Chapter 25

**JAKE**

I woke up to the movement of my imprint. Lea was sitting up, stretching, I watched her through half closed eyes for a moment. I could still scent the guilt heavy on her, no matter how much I worked to take it away. I understood where Lea was coming from wanting to help our friends, but I also could clearly see the fine line of danger we were walking on. I decided that for now I would try to just see where all the pieces fell. What the rest of the pack said and what happened between Embry and Becky. Then I could decide the best course of action for my pack from there.

Until then my mind was whirling with the fact I knew I wanted to propose now. Honestly I'd been toying with the idea inside for about a month, without telling anyone else. I'd been so fucking scared Lea would reject me and I would be left looking like a complete asshole. It was clear to me now that wasn't going to happen. I needed to lay that final claim on my mate, that last tie that had yet to bind us. My wolf knew it would solidify our joining in the public eye and he pressed for it himself. I loved this woman so damn much I couldn't picture my life without her in it.

Lea rose and I moved, purposely loud so that she would turn to me. Her gaze met mine and her expression melted into a devotion that made my blood run even hotter. "Good morning Baby." I shifted around, moving to my back watching her eyes drag over my lounging form with a hungry look, I could scent her arousal, but I could also see her fighting against it. We had an appointment we needed to keep today, one I wasn't that excited about.

"Good morning Jake." Lea padded around the bed, leaning over to kiss me lightly on the forehead. My hand reached out, fondly patting her ass, wishing she was back on top of me like the night before. "I need to go get ready." There was a grin on her face, but Lea's tone was firm telling me I was not going to be able to distract her. I huffed lightly, but didn't force the issue. Her finger tips ran teasingly over my lips and I watched her as she bent to pick up her bathrobe and tying it on, smirked at me one last time before exiting the room.

My expression turned into a frown, I wasn't looking forward to our meeting this morning. It wasn't even that I really thought this Robert guy was any kind of threat to me. It was the fact I could smell his obvious attraction to my mate and unlike strangers who I could just ignore when they were checking out my girlfriend, Lea also liked him, even if it was more in a friend kind of way, similar to the pups or Seth in our pack. My wolf didn't care, he just saw an opponent and it set his blood boiling and I could do nothing but respond with him.

I tired to hinder it because I felt it could make Lea aggravated with me, but I'm not certain I would be able to hold myself back if this guy tried anything. If I'd thought I was territorial before I became in touch with my wolf, I was worst now. Things inside of me were changing, I felt stronger more assured, more right. I was no longer a little boy hiding from the monster inside of him. I was a man in complete control of my power. Now if I could only iron out all the other parts of my life.

Finally dragging myself out of the bed, the scent of our sex from the night before still heavy in the air, I pulled on jeans and a cranberry tee-shirt that Lea always complemented me on. I drank the last of the bottle of water Lea had brought me from the night before and attempted to make the bed. It never looked as tidy as when Lea did it, but I figured the effort would be appreciated. I glanced at the time and realized we'd slept in and were running a little later then Lea would like. I was guessing from that we would probably be grabbing food on the run.

I could hear the shower still going as I walked by the bathroom. I would brush my teeth and stuff after Lea finished, knowing if I went in there now we would not be getting out of the house for quiet some time after. Tromping down the stairs I headed towards the kitchen. I paused in front of the living room. Both Embry and Becky were sitting inside, Embry drinking coffee, Becky milk and both silently watching the morning news on the TV. I got the distinct impression neither of them had said anything to other yet and I shook my head. "We'll be heading out soon." I gave Embry a pointed look when they both turned at the sound of my voice.

My Beta's gaze shied away, obviously attempting to ignore the silent command from me, Becky turned her face to look at me for a moment before she nodded. "I hope Rob's grandma is able to shed some light on this serial killer." Becky's tone was encouraging, but her expression said she had about as much faith in us finding something out today as I did.

"Probably going to be a waste of our fucking time," I grumbled softly to myself, my wolf still brisling and defensive inside. I watched Embry spare a side glance and a smirk at my fuming form, Becky just gave me a momentarily quizzical look.

"Lea wouldn't bother with going, if she didn't think the meeting might help in someway." I frowned, getting the distinct impression that Becky was kind of pissed off at me. I guess I couldn't completely blame her, it was mostly my fault at the moment that she didn't know everything she wanted to and somehow seeing how perceptive she was, Becky had to have reasoned that out for herself. Still I currently had my priorities and I couldn't allow them to waver.

I was high strung already that morning, my wolf clawing at my insides in annoyance. I didn't even try to hamper the deep growl that left my chest at the challenge in Becky's tone and somehow I wasn't surprised when Embry answered with a rumble of his own directed at me. It was well within my right now to posture and show my place as Alpha, but currently emotions were running so thick in the house that I decided it was time for me to be the sensible one for once and just walk away.

Entering the kitchen and crossing to get coffee I heard the sound of the footsteps of my imprint as she came down the stairs herself. She paused to say her greetings also, but hurried into the kitchen without incident. Entering I could tell she was flustered and trying to rush as she kept glancing towards the clock. "How did I over sleep?" She complained as she put on water for some tea. I laughed deeply as walking up behind her I wrapped one arm around her waist buried my face in her hair.

"I think I wore you out." Lea frowned up at me and I found her even more adorable when she was so annoyed. "Hey I'm just being honest!" I shrugged at my imprint and watched as slowly a wide grin spread across her face, before she pushed at me suddenly.

"I swear if I didn't love you so much Jacob Black…" Her threat was empty and teasing, she grabbed a handful of my shirt pulling me down into a kiss. It reminded me I still needed to brush my teeth. Pushing my desire for my mate aside, I told her I would be right back down and tromping upstairs again finished getting ready. Walking back towards the kitchen a short while later I rolled my eyes to see neither Embry nor Becky had moved.

Deciding that was one interpersonal conflict I should probably keep myself out of at the moment, I instead headed back to the kitchen to find Lea drinking tea and of course looking over case notes. I wanted to find this fucking shape shifter as much as anyone but I was starting to worry Lea was putting too much pressure on herself. Maybe as annoyed as I was to be going, Lea seeing some old friends would distract her for a while today. "You ready?" My mate glanced up at my question.

"Yeah let me go say good bye to Embry and Becky." I allowed her to go, I figured I'd already made it clear what I though Em should do. Lea returned shortly with her purse and the two of us left for the afternoon. It felt good to get outside into the brisk air. Hand in hand with the woman I loved, walking around the city I could almost forget we were going somewhere I wasn't terribly interested in.

First we took the subway and then we walked for a ways, even knowing Lea had worked in the city before meeting me; I couldn't help the fact I naturally moved closer to her smaller frame as the area we were walking in became less hospitable. Slightly more run down and I understood how this Robert kid was able to easily get tied up with drugs and gangs like he had.

Still I never scented a hint of fear off my mate and I respected that. She was much more cunning and fearless then most people I knew, which I guess was good being around my completely insane life. We passed a couple less then savory types that stopped to stare at us. My glare and size usually discouraged them away. I hoped no one actually tried to hassle us, I would hate to have to try to reign myself in to protect my secret.

We reached a large apartment complex and Lea turned so I followed her. The building was in better shape then some I'd seen as we walked. It was obvious that the tenants here still cared, still I felt mildly ill at ease expecting danger or maybe I was just still on edge about Robert being around my girlfriend. My imprint could read my moods and nuzzled my arm affectionately as we climbed into the one elevator for the building.

"I know this is probably a waste of time Jake and that you haven't been looking forward to it, but thank you for coming with me. Even if her information doesn't amount to much I own Rob's grandmother the respect of listening to it." I felt my nerves settled as I got what she meant, much like myself with our tribal elders most of my life. Up until I became a part of our legends I continuously wrote them off as silly, still I'd always listened to their words out of my deference for my father and others like him.

"You know I would do almost anything for you." The affection in my voice was thick as I kissed the side of Lea's temple. My words true yet in the same token I could only respect that Lea never took advantage of that fact and instead reciprocated it.

"I'm so lucky." The playful tone of both my imprints expression and voice brought a smile to my face. The doors to the elevator dinged open and I was surprised to see we were near the top floor. Her attention drawn back to our task at hand, Lea exited into the hallway, myself just a step behind her. It only took us moments to cross on the dull carpet until Lea was rapping smartly on a non-descript door that looked just like every other one around us expect for the number.

Brisk, strong foot steps told me that Robert was the one that was going to answer. I cooled my own emotions, knowing my aggression towards him was unwarranted and trying to convince the wolf inside of me of just that fact. The door pulled open and Rob was smiling at the small woman in front of me. "We're so glad you could take the time to come." He gave me a wary glance and I could see was trying to ascertain if I was still challenging him.

"I could never turn down a friendly visit and Jake has been trying to see as much of the city as possible." Lea's tone was neutral and I felt myself cringe inwardly at the fact that I was actually here because I felt like I needed to keep an eye on my girlfriend. It caused me to thrust my hand out towards the other young man, trying to offer a peace gesture now that I was starting to find my actions foolish.

"Yeah thanks for inviting me along too." Robert studied my expression for a moment before he nodded and accepted my gesture of the hand shake.

"Any one important to Lea is welcome here, we owe her so much." The other man bowed his head at me and inside I felt an odd surge of satisfaction. The other male had acknowledged our significance to Lea and that calmed my wolf. I grinned at Rob and for the first time it felt really genuine.

"I hear voices are our guests here?" Surprise crossed my face at the strong, female voice that echoed out across the apartment. It was thickly accented but her English was still clear and true. Lea almost beamed at the sound, not even waiting for Robert to reply but instead calling out herself.

"Mrs. Hezel, we've come to visit you!" Around the corner strode a small, stout woman. Her hair a feathery white, pulled back in a tight bun, her skin winkled but her eyes; blue like her grandson's shown with such wit and intelligence it reminded me of Quil's grandfather.

"I am happy for the company." Mrs. Hezel looked like she was about to say more when upon laying her eyes on me she stopped dead in her tracks. I felt my skin prickle as she studied my frame with a curious expression. Yet it wasn't like an elder assessing the potential of someone's love choice, it was more wary and cautious. "Big man." I shifted from foot to foot under her gaze, not certain what she was trying to ascertain from me. "Your boyfriend?" Mrs. Hezel now looked at Lea.

"Yes Ma'am, this is Jacob Black, I met him where I live now in Washington State." Lea's expression was puzzled too at the other woman's actions. I was about to say a greeting when the older woman stepped closer to me, staring directly up into my face. Suddenly reaching a hand up she pushed it into my chest, I started surprised and fought the growl that sprung from my mouth. Mrs. Hezel to my shock just grinned at my reaction.

"Robert, you may go to class now, I wish to speak to my guests alone." The old woman turned, having it seemed dismissed her grandson, I hazarded a glance at my imprint, but Lea just shrugged at me obviously as bewildered by the woman's actions as I was.

"But grandma!" I think Rob was about to protest, but Mrs. Hezel just waved him off.

"I said go, my old stories bore you and I don't need you scowling at me while I tell them." The older woman now disappeared from around where she had come. I assumed we were supposed to follow her. Lea shot Robert a sympathetic glance.

"Sorry to sort of steal your house Rob." The other man just rolled his eyes.

"She's in one of her moods now I'm used to it. Good luck!" Robert let out an exasperated sigh looking my way as grabbing a jacket from a hook on the wall he exited out the door we had just entered from. I found myself staring blankly at Lea again, realizing I hadn't so much as actually spoken yet, since meeting Mrs. Hezel.

"She's a little too straight forward sometimes, but even I'm a bit confused by this one." Lea seemed more bemused then concerned so I shrugged off my own inner apprehension.

"Did you see she copped a feel?" Mirth in my deep voice, Lea burst out laughing as she started after the path of the old woman. I followed her and the apartment opened up to first a living room and then leads into a kitchen.

"I guess no one can resist your charm Jake." Joking about it made the event seem less surreal, at least until we walked into the kitchen proper.

"I was wondering when one of your kind would show up to hunt the rabid wolf." Mrs. Hezel's steely gaze was locked on me, I froze uncertain I'd just understood what she had said to me right. She seemed un-phased by my expression and instead looked at my girlfriend. "You've done very well for yourself Lea."

My mate didn't even have her usual look of satisfaction on her face that she got when being complimented on me, Lea was instead blinking as seemly shocked as I currently was. "Mrs. Hezel, what do you mean _his kind_?" I was glad Lea still had her wits about her because I was floundering at the moment.

"I lived with a pack of wolf men for a while when I was young, I will never forget the signs of one. It's obvious your Jacob is a shape shifter." Mrs. Hezel sounded so matter of fact about the topic. Lea's jaw had dropped, she slowly lowered herself into one of the other seats at the kitchen table, I could tell trying to categorize what had just been told to us. All this cryptic bull shit was starting to piss me off and finally I found my voice.

"I need a complete explanation of what you're telling us and I need it right now." I continued standing, behind my mate, feeling a sense of security at being on my feet. My head was spinning and I had no fucking clue how in the span of ten minutes my whole world had turned itself on its head.

"Sit down Jacob, Lea can make us some drinks and we will talk about my childhood." Mrs. Hezel looked pointedly at my girlfriend. I gave Lea credit, she pulled her wits together far quicker then I currently was. Flying up to her feet as I slowly lowered my frame into the kitchen chair nearest to the one she had just been in. Lea nodded and didn't reply instead crossing and I could see preparing coffee and tea for us to drink. Mrs. Hezel meanwhile was still watching my reactions.

"Lea told you the village where I grew up ended up in the middle of territory occupied by the Nazi's during World War II?" The topics appeared to be flipping quickly and I wasn't following how this tied into werewolves, but I knew I needed to reply in order to get more information.

"She didn't give me any details, but she did say you survived the war." I glanced over at Lea who was still working but I could see watching us out of the corner of her eye.

"I was eight, The Nazi's were drawing close, and our village was tiny and had no way to defend or even hid us. So my family and a group from our town decided to take our chances and head up into the mountains and the forest. There were many legends about the area, about monsters, but they were far less frightening then the living breathing threat we were facing marching down around us." The older woman paused briefly as Lea brought her over a steaming cup of tea. She smiled up at my girlfriend and Lea attempted to return the gesture though I could see her mind was still filled with the events unfolding in front of us.

Lea crossed again to get my coffee and I couldn't help myself, my nerves were unsettled and I pulled my mate down into my lap, her body against mine a steady comfort. I noticed Mrs. Hezel watch our movements with knowing eyes, my brow creased as I prodded her to continue. "So what happened in the mountains?"

Mrs. Hezel blew gently on her drink. "It was hard, the weather was poor and I wasn't the only small child. The difficulties turned to terror when we realized a squadron of Nazi Soldiers had discovered us and were closing in. We would have been captured and most likely killed, except when we were cornered by a grouping of rocks staring down the barrels of guns surrounding us a howl broke through the air."

"It wasn't like any wolf I had ever heard before and suddenly all around the entire group of us, villagers and soldiers like were giant wolves. The Nazi's assaulted the wolves, but they were craftier, faster and knew the area better. The wolves killed the soldiers and then to the shock of my group shifted and became men." My heart was pounding, inside my wolf was twisting both our emotions somewhere between excitement and fear, my arms around my imprint were holding her tightly, feeling scarcely able to breath.

"It was a strange experience, but back then, especially out in the countryside like we were magic wasn't that unheard of and people still believed in stranger things. The wolf men greeted us as family, being a child I wasn't really integrated into the conversations of what was precisely going on with them. We were invited to come and stay at their village until the threat of the war had passed. It appears the wolf men found it to be their duty to protect others, from what I do remember they said it was their original purpose for being." Mrs. Hezel was drinking her tea now. Taking a few sips before she continued her story. Lea leaned back against my chest I could see trying to look up at me.

"That sounds similar to the story behind your tribe's transformation Jake." Lea had heard all of the old tales at this point numerous times from my father. My mate loved knowledge and learning in a way I'd never really appreciated, so she had analyzed the legends at length with my dad on occasion. Still Lea was one of the extreme few people outside our tribe that had even heard the stories of the origins of our transformation and I felt an instinctual hesitation to share with this older woman I didn't even know, even as she was laying out for us that she probably understood what we were better then we had when we first started shifting.

I didn't answer my imprint, my gaze instead held on Mrs. Hezel across from me. I nuzzled the side of Lea's temple in acknowledgement of her words, but it was clear I wasn't going to share anything private about our pack without feeling good reason too. The older woman studied me for a long while before a smile broke across her face. "I became very good friends with the son of the second in command of the group, he was very proud of his father, he would go into length telling me about their exploits and what he was going to accomplish when he started transforming himself when he got older. I, at times found myself jealous because I was a child and didn't completely understand and I wanted to be able to become a wolf also and be fearless and protect those I loved."

"My older sister must have felt a similar longing to mine, she was nineteen when we left our village and I watched as she fell in love with one of the wolf men. To this day I have never witnessed men that loved as fiercely or as devotedly as those men did." I watched Mrs. Hezel spare my imprint a knowing smirk and Lea flushed lightly.

"So what happened?" Slowly the apprehension in me was starting to cool, Mrs. Hezel seemed happy to share her information with us while asking for little in return. It gave me a sense of security and in an odd way made her tale seem even more real to me because she silently understood my need to shelter my pack from outsiders.

"The war eventually ended, the wolves had taken in a few more groups like ours over the time period. We were all gently informed it was time for us to leave and return to our regular lives. A few like my sister who had over our stay become the mate of the man she loved stayed. We all owned our lives to the pack that had saved us, so when they asked us never to speak of anything we had seen there we all readily agreed. It was bittersweet. I was thrilled to return to what was left of our home and start to rebuild our lives, but at the same token I had grown to love our time in the wilderness in the wolf man's village. Also my sister had almost been like a second mother to me and even though no one actually came out and said it to me, I knew that once we left because of her choice to stay I was never going to see her again." Mrs. Hezel's look became sad, Lea reached across the table to lightly pat the back of her hand. The older woman looked up at my imprint with gratitude.

"And you never told anyone?" Somehow I couldn't quiet believe that. Mrs. Hezel smiled at the disbelief in my voice.

"I have on occasion attempted to try to explain what happened in round about ways to my children and to Robert. It just seems a shame to me that the tale of such a noble people should disappear with the death of everyone that they helped. For years thought none of us did speak of it, in fact it was nearly a crime in our village to even hint at what had happened. A few years after things had settled back down a couple of the younger men from our town went back into the woods and attempted to see if they could find the wolf men again. They claimed they just wanted to make certain they were alright, I think they had been children like me and fascinated by these people and wanted to join them. Either way if they found the place the village had been again it was gone. None of us ever saw another clue of what had happened to the wolf men and some even started to believe that mass hysteria had caused all of us to invent them. I knew they were wrong though because I always knew in my heart my sister was still with the man that she loved and happier then she ever would have been in our town."

The weight of the old woman's words, more questions then I could even think of started to buzz around my head. I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find out my pack was not the only one, but it just lead to so many uncertainties about where these other giant wolves had come from and why. Studying the woman across from me I was also sadly certain that from the small amount of information she was given while staying with the pack she wouldn't really be able to answer all my ponderings for me. She had just introduced a bigger mystery that I wasn't certain how to start to solve.

"Are you here to take care of the killer wolf?" Mrs. Hezel's question shook me from my own thoughts, I blinked for a moment noticing Lea too was quiet and I think going over everything we had just learned herself.

"Yes, when Lea told me about the case, well it was pretty obvious what was happening and also that we were the only ones that could take care of it." There was no arrogance in my voice only fact. Lea finally pulled away from me rising and I could see returning to fetching our drinks, her expression showing she was still analyzing everything.

"I had actually asked Lea here today to warn her away from chasing this killer. I was afraid she would end up being murdered by the creature, I was surprised when she showed up with you." Mrs. Hezel was still sipping at her tea, her eyes watching me.

"Do you have any suggestions from your experience in how we can track this thing?" My imprint always looking one step ahead, it was part of what made her powerful. She walked back over to the table, sitting down my coffee, sliding back into her original chair with her tea in her hands.

"Sadly no, most of what I remember from my time with the wolf men was playing with my friend and neither of us were even tens years old at the time so my experience was limited. I wish I would have asked my parents more when I was younger, but we never really talked about what happened that much." The older woman's expression was regretful. Lea looked at her with empathy, shaking her head.

"Don't feel bad Mrs. Hezel. Jake and I will come up with something, we usually do." Lea smiled up at me and it filled my heart with warmth. Her faith in us and our ability to combat the world together, it was just what I wanted from her.

"This is admittedly just all a little shocking to us, we've never known of any other shape shifters beyond our pack." I felt safe telling the other woman this fact, leaning against the table top, drinking my coffee. Mrs. Hezel's brow rose at my comment.

"One fact I do know is that those wolf men were not the only ones. My friend often spoke with much pride of his uncle, who was the leader of another group" Mrs. Hezel finished her drink gently placing the tea cup back on the table.

"Over the course of the trip I'm finding out there are a lot of things about my nature I'm just starting to understand." So much had changed for me over this last week, it was both overwhelming and exciting. This news we found out today was just one new piece. Though I did think it was going to fascinate my father to hear.

"Thank you for caring enough to think to warn me." Lea's tone was grateful. I reached across to lightly tug on the curls at the end of her hair affection in my gaze.

"You have done so much good for this family. I wanted to return the favor in any small way possible." The two women exchanged smiles and I almost hated to admit that I had found out more today on this venture then I could have ever even dreamed. The three of us small talked for a while, Lea told Mrs. Hezel bits and pieces of our life. The older woman told Lea about how both she and Robert had been doing. Eventually we excused ourselves to head home.

My mind was still swirling, I planned to call my dad as soon as we reached the house so I could relay everything we had just discovered to him while the facts were still fresh in my mind. I was so busy going over my own plans silently. It didn't even register with me how quiet my imprint was being.

"Jake?" Question in Lea's tone immediately drew my attention to her. We were almost back to the subway entrance from earlier that day.

"Something up?" My mate's expression was so serious. I felt a concerned knot form in my stomach.

"Do you feel I don't know besieged at all about all of this?" Lea stopped walking for a moment turning to look at me. I blinked at her a bit surprised.

"What do you mean?" I reached up to run my fingers along her cheek, she felt out of sorts but not really upset to me. I wasn't exactly certain where my imprint was coming from.

"I guess it had never really dawned on me the scope of what we could be facing. There is this entire world out there, of myth and magic that we know nothing about. Maybe it's silly considering I know you guys and the Cullen's but it still always seemed like our own little story in Forks; but this now it's becoming something so much larger then just us." The concern on my imprint's face, I recognized it. Lea felt out of control of what we were facing at the moment and it was driving her a little crazy.

"Baby, to be honest I've been feeling the epic scope of this pretty much since we left Forks and especially with the tie I've been feeling to my wolf this last week. Things are changing, but I'm not concerned, because I have him and my pack and I have you." Leaning down my lips gently brushed against hers, pulling away I watched Lea fight the grin trying to spread across her face.

"When did you become so confident Jacob Black?" One hand slid up to her hip, Lea's expression playful, but impressed with me. I bathed in this new assurance I did feel.

"Probably right around the same time you first told me you loved me." I watched the saucy expression fall from Lea's face and it was replaced by soft warmth. She glanced down and stuttered for a moment, I could see at a lost for what to say, before her beautiful dark eyes rose again to lock on mine.

"How did I get so incredibly lucky?" Her voice was muted with emotion as she asked me that question for the second time that day. Pulling her roughly to me I pressed my face down and against the pulse in her neck, her submission to me was almost instantaneous.

"The better question is how did you ever managed to make my fucked up world make so much sense?" My warm breath tickled her shoulders and neck. I let out a low whine as her face pressed up and into my neck in return.

"Let's just hope we can continue to hold it all together." I wished we were home suddenly. I wanted to walk the woods with her, make love to my imprint in one of our secret spots. I wanted to pledge myself to her completely. Pulling back I looked into her eyes again.

"Baby I'm really beginning to think our story has only started and we haven't even reached the best part yet, we'll make it through this and it will get even better." My tone was a little cocky and it made Lea smile. Hand and hand we started back towards the subway again. I had my dad and Embry to talk to and so much to plan and then I was looking forward to a night with nothing on my mind but the woman at my side.

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><p><em>AN: I have been so excited to post this chapter! It's the first really look into how I want to expand the universe around Jacob's pack. Sadly though while we will see some more hints and pieces by the end of this story,but the full scope of the world these characters live in won't become clear until book three. I'm genuinely really curious and excited to see what everyone things about this twist, about there being more werewolves. About them being heroes. <em>

_Lots of new favorites and follows this past chapter and I want to say a big hello to anyone new reading this story!** Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 **and **PastOneonta** thank you both so much for your reviews! **Squinttern** thank you for the review and welcome to the story! _

_Still a long way from solving the mystery of this shifter or to the conflicts happening with Embry's paternity and his relationship with Becky. Probably have about 15 chapters left in the book! Hopefully everyone continues to enjoy the journey getting there! As always never hesitate to review or PM me on here! I love hearing from all of you!_


	27. Chapter 26

**EMBRY**

The air in the room felt stifling, the steady drone of the television not doing anything to distract me from the scent of the woman across from me, Becky was upset. She had been since the day we made love. I couldn't even blame her, she'd given me something so perfect and beautiful and I couldn't fully commit the same way she had yet. Becky knew it too and it was putting her on edge and unfortunately after seeing her reaction to my Alpha this morning it was clear she was blaming Jake.

Becky and Lea had some sort of conversation while my friend and I were gone the morning previous and it had just added fuel to the fire. Yet neither woman seemed to want to really talk about it and I felt like Lea was walking on egg shells around us now and Jake was just getting quieter, which was completely unlike him. This was my doing frankly because I wasn't able to just tell Becky how I felt. It was just I had so much happening to me at the moment I felt overwhelmed, but maybe in the end I should just tell her that too.

Becky rose from her chair, my gaze immediately drawn to her and I felt guilt when she didn't even look at me. Instead she walked from the room, her dishes from her morning meal in hand. I listened to her deposit them in the kitchen and then walk back past the living room and up the stairs. My head dropped rearward landing heavily on the couch top behind me. I growled lightly and inside my wolf twisted around. He clearly knew the answer to all of my problems and it was honesty. I wished it was that easy for me, I wished I hadn't lied to pretty much everyone that was important to me in some way in the last week, because my brain was starting to hurt trying to keep all of my stories straight.

My cell phone chimed in my pocket and sighing I dug it out looking at the front screen. My brow rose as I saw I had a text message from Kim. I guess if I was already going to hell in a hand basket I may as well leap in feet first. Flipping open my phone I was unsurprised when it said he had my test results and to stop at the station. It was just one more thing to come crashing down around my head. I was actually almost scared to see the results now, because I wasn't certain I was currently prepared to deal with the fall out.

I texted Harry back and told him I would head right over. With Jake and Lea gone there really was no better time for me to get this over with. I'd almost wanted to ask Becky to go with me, because I really could have used her support, but until I could stop being a spineless asshole I didn't deserve her to help me. I needed to get my shit together and soon. I frowned knowing that if I didn't I could lose a lot of what was important to me.

I just left, I didn't want to burden anyone and I needed to get back before my Alpha and his mate did. Lea had vaguely explained where they were going the night before and it had sounded like it was farther then her station so that coupled with my hope that this Robert guy's grandma keeping them tied up for a while, would give me the window I needed to get my answers.

I tired to just walk, to focus on the movement of my body, the feel of the wolf inside of me. I didn't want to dwell or think at the moment, I could save all of that for when I finally knew once and for all if Jake and I were actually related. I made Lea's old station house in record time, realizing I was probably going to get questioned by someone if I attempted to just walk around. I texted Kim to tell him I was there. He replied swiftly, informing me he would be right out and to just wait in the front.

I couldn't stand still, nervous energy eating at my body like a disease. I watched a couple of cops drag in some assholes in handcuffs. No one really paid me much attention which was probably good. It only took a couple of minutes before I heard the familiar tone of Harry's footsteps walking up behind me. I turned back to the sound to greet him. He waved me towards the hallway he'd just come from and I crossed swiftly to join him.

"Glad you could get here so fast." Kim had to walk a little faster to keep up with my larger strides. I tried to pace myself to make it easier on him.

"Jake and Lea are gone today, you really texted me at the best time." My tone sounded as flat as I was certain my expression looked. Harry studied me closely before he replied I'm positive able to easily see how much life was currently weighing on me. I watched him suck in a breath and I think was about to offer some advice or help, but then didn't after he saw my gaze. I just didn't want to have to deal with having everything I was doing wrong currently pointed out to me yet again, no matter how well intentioned the person was.

"We can head down to my lab, it's pretty private and then once you have your information you can do whatever you want with it." Kim turned a corner and I easily kept pace with him, watching the floor intently as we walked. My mind buzzing over what I was about to do and what I actually hoped would happen.

"Thanks, a lot." I was pleased with how even my tone sounded. "You don't even know me and you've done a hell of a lot for me. You're a really good guy." Regardless of all the current bullshit I'd caused in my life, Harry really had went out of his way for me and I was very grateful.

"Sometimes every one of us needs a little help figuring out our path in life. I just hope whatever you find out today Embry, you stop allowing it to rule your happiness." Kim's tone was honest and hopeful for me. I glanced up at the older man and he was looking back at me with concern and after a brief moment I nodded.

"I think maybe I'm finally reaching the point where I may be able to do that. You were right. I'm starting to see that there are so many other things worth living for that don't deal with my past bullshit." Guilt washed through me again as I knew I was allowing my own stupid dwelling to ruin what could be some of the best relationships in my life.

I was surprised when reaching over Harry slapped me soundlessly on the shoulder. "All of us need to make mistakes or poor choices or try for crazy things at some point in our life. Just don't lose sight on what is actually important to you and I'm sure everything will work out fine." The steady demeanor of the man walking with me gave me strength. Maybe instead of looking at this event as the accumulation of all questionable choices I may have made, I should look at it as the starting point towards moving for something better, with people that all meant a lot to me.

"Thanks again Harry, I don't deserve all the help you've given and continue to give me." We reached a door and Kim stepped up and opening the handle walked inside first, I followed closing it firmly behind me. I found myself staring around what must be Harry's lab. Completely sterile and filled with equipment, I personally had never seen anything like it in real life, only on television.

"I try to do what I can." Kim crossed to a small table which contained neat piles of papers. "Actually you were lucky a really good friend of mine from school worked at the lab and she was able to shuffle your test through in probably record time. Sometimes it's nice to have connections." Harry grinned at me and I couldn't help but feel more gratitude. I thanked him again, my posture growing ridge as he held up one slender plain looking envelope.

"It's your information so if you want to open it here feel free, if you want to take it somewhere that's more private I won't be offended. Just maybe you could drop me a text sometime so I know everything worked out okay if you do?" I could hear the words coming out of the lab tech's mouth but all I could do at the moment was stare at the item he was gripping in his hand. So many things flashed in front of me, every possibility, how many ways I'd set myself up for possible triumph or perhaps horrible pain.

"If you don't mind I would like to open it here?" Gingerly I reached across the space between Harry and me, taking the envelope from his hand and just staring at it as I held it, feeling the slight weight of the object. I knew that I wouldn't be able to wait all the way to get back to Becky's house to open it and I figured in case I did get emotional over the results better I do it in front of Kim who already knows a majority of my bullshit versus just flipping out in the middle of the street.

"Not at all, I just didn't want you to feel some kind of obligation to do it because of your gratitude for my help." Harry had been looking through papers but as soon as I'd asked my question he stopped, his attention now fully on me. I took one deep breath and then another, still studying the item in my hand. Willing myself to just tear away the paper and read the results inside. My wolf stirred, more then anything I believe he was hoping I could finally put all of this to rest and that my current string of falsehoods I'd been spreading could be stopped.

Glancing up Kim and I locked eyes and he gave me an encouraging nod. My jaw setting I held the envelope in my left hand as I tore at the paper gluing it close at the top with my right. It only took me moments to free the content inside. I stared at the single sheet of paper for a few seconds before finally pulling it out and starting to read.

I hungrily scanned the words, now that I was finally presented with the answers to one of my biggest questions I needed to know what it was as quickly as possible. I blinked, shock settling in, slowly I lowered the paper in my hand, trying to decide just what the emotion currently flowing through me was. Gradually my gaze lifted to meet Harry's again. "Jake's not my brother."

If I had to be perfectly honest with myself this was not the outcome I'd been expecting. I had in fact been trying to reason out in my brain for the last couple of days just how I was going to explain to my friend when I got the results why I hadn't told him about the test. A part of me had been so certain they would come back positive and now, they hadn't. To my surprise I felt a huge rush of relief.

Glancing behind me a few steps away from where I was standing was a stool. I carefully backed up crossing the distance before sinking down to sit. Emotions were flowing freely through my form at an extreme level. I sat the paper on the table in front of me finally looking up to see a concerned expression on Harry Kim's face. "Is it terrible that I'm glad he's not?" I simply had to ask the question.

Relief flooded Kim's eyes as he soundly shook his head. "Not at all, I think it's logical to want the result that wouldn't turn your world completely upside down." What he said made sense to me. I glanced down for a moment considering everything that had just transpired in the last few seconds.

"But I still don't know the real answer to who is my father then." Internally I was surprised when this realization didn't carry the same heavy weight that this situation used to.

"Maybe you never will Embry, but looking at your life now, does it matter to you as much as it used to?" Kim leaned back against the counter behind him, giving me an honest, considering look. I really though for a small period of time, allowing everything that I'd been feeling over the last few days to truly sink it.

"I guess not, I mean I would still like to know; but I'm starting to realize I have a lot of important relationships in my life already. People who are very critical to me and who love me and that maybe you were right and I'm too focused on just one small part of my life, and maybe it's a part that doesn't mean quite as much as I always thought it did." I sighed heavily, realizing I should have been working on things with Becky and helping out Lea and Jake and everything with the shifter. That in the end they were much more my family along with the rest of my pack then any guy was going to be. Regardless of if we shared the same DNA.

"I can't believe how blind I've been." I glanced back up at the lab tech sharing the room with me, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed that somehow Kim had become exposed to such large piles of my private drama. That this last week I had in essence alienated so many of the important people from the key points of my life that I was turning to someone who was almost a complete stranger to me for support. In spite of what a good man Harry might be, everything about that currently was wrong.

"I think you're learning from this Embry and in the end, sometimes that's all we can really get out of life. Is lessons in how to make it better." Kim's expression as he grinned at me was almost paternal in nature. I think he was pleased I was finally seeing a lot of the things he had been trying to get me to realize all along. A rueful smiled crossed my face on reflection of his advice, knowing I'd heard Lea tell Jake something very similar.

"Do you want to throw this out for me?" I held up the test result now, frowning one more time at the paper and thinking that it might be safer to eliminate all evidence of my activity. If I kept the results, there was always a chance Jake might come across it one day. Harry blinked momentarily surprised before seeing my expression he nodded in understanding.

"It's your choice Embry and you're certain you want to get rid of your test?" I didn't blame him for being cautious after the huge deal I'd made out of finding out about the possibly of Jake and I being related; that I would so readily get rid of the proof we were not. Honestly though I felt like I'd completed what I needed from this portion of my journey and now I was ready to look for something else to work towards.

"I'm certain. I got my answer and I think I got what I needed." The smile on my face was genuine and it felt good. It was like a weight was gone from my body. I no longer needed to worry about sneaking around and hiding things. I could instead just put all of this behind me. I took one long deep breath, I also finally felt ready to have that conversation with Becky.

"Good luck Embry, I'm glad I could help you." Kim leaned off the counter stepping towards me, taking the results from me with one hand while extending the other for a hand shake. I accepted the gesture.

"I really can't thank you enough." We exchanged nods of our heads and pulling away, there was a slightly awkward moment. Harry had helped me with so much in the last week and it was pretty clear to me I was never going to actually speak to him again, it seemed odd. Yet at the same time it was the correct action for my life and with another nod and a small wave I left the lab room behind me, perfectly ready to never look back on this event.

I recalled the way back out from when I had followed Kim inside and had returned to the main entrance of the station when I froze, certain I'd heard someone call my name. Ice filled my veins with a steady panic as I spotted Chris crossing to where I was standing. I wanted to just run and my wolf sensing my panic seemed ready to fight. Instead I just stood there dumbly watching the other man get closer.

"What the hell are you doing here? Lea never called me saying she was stopping in today?" I watched the cop's eyes rove around me. "Where the fuck is she?" Now Chris's look became suspicious, my mind raced but I simply could not think of a justifiable reason for me to be there alone, pass the truth, which I preferred not to tell him.

"I'm just running errands this morning. Lea wanted me to drop a few things off to one of the lab guys." It was a lie and one far too easy for Chris to check up on, I just prayed he didn't care enough to actually do it.

"Oh." Relief flooded me as the other man just shrugged, seemly accepting my explanation with little protest and apparently readying himself to move on to a new topic. "Well will you tell her to call me when you see her? I need her opinion on something that's kind of important." I nodded quick agreement, happy to easily escape my current dilemma but then silently asking myself how I was then going to pass on this message without raising more questions. I decided I would deal with that later, as thanking me Chris walked away.

I watched the large cop until he was out of sight, then making a beeline for the front door and crashing out into the cool spring air. I knew now, that Jake wasn't my brother that his father wasn't also mine. I think had I found this out before this trip I might have been crushed. Now I just looked at it as another piece of important knowledge that I wouldn't allow to define who I was.

Walking silently down the street I reached deep inside of me and did something I'd not been expecting to do. I apologized to the wolf. I wanted him to understand that I finally got everything he's been attempting to express to me and that I was grateful for the fact he continued to stick with me and help me even though I maybe didn't deserve it. In return I felt a great, warm devotion from my inner canine, a clear connection that up until this moment we had not shared.

I let out another deep breath, finally starting to understand what Jake been trying to explain to me about our dual nature. I clenched my fists at my side, fighting the desire suddenly to just run, to enjoy the feeling of freedom coursing through me. Instead I knew what I needed to do next. I had a conversation that I'd been putting off like a complete idiot and it was now time for me to finally have it. I headed back towards the subway and Becky house.

* * *

><p>The door to the house creaked open in front of me and I paused listening and scenting the air. Lea and Jake's scents were both still from this morning and I only heard Becky quietly moving around in her room. My eyes closed as I was silently thankful for no one noticing my absence and the fact I had a small amount of time to hopefully start to mend things with the woman currently in the house with me. I took a deep breath, closing the door behind me and standing straight and tall strode towards the stairs, crossing the floor to the entrance way of Becky's bedroom.<p>

To make matters even easier for me the door was open. Closer now I heard soft instrumental music and moving so that the inside of the room was now in my line of sight I found Becky laying on her bed reading a book. Reached in I knocked on her door as I cleared my throat. I felt like I was intruding, but in the same token I felt like it was necessary and that this was important. Becky glanced up at me, the book falling from her hands to the bed next to her. She gazed up at my form with a slightly confused expression like she couldn't understand why I was suddenly there.

"Do you need something Embry?" The formality of her tone hurt me. We had always had such an easy time together, but now I had betrayed her trust of me.

"I was just visiting Lea's old station. I got my test results. I thought you would want to know Jake's not my brother." It wasn't the topic I actually wanted to talk to about with her, but it seemed like a safe area to start and see if she actually still cared about me. Becky's eyes grew wide. I scented a mixture of emotions from her, concern, curiosity, pity. She blinked a few times as if she was trying to decide just what she actually wanted to say to me.

"That's a bit of a shock. Are you alright with that?" Her emotion towards me was genuine concern and I felt a huge rush of relief that I hadn't so completely ruined things between us that she wouldn't even care about me anymore.

"Do you mind if I come in?" I felt awkward leaning in her doorway talking, she flushed as she realized she probably should have invited me to sit and nodding smartly she gestured for me to freely use the end of her bed. I crossed the room and sunk into the soft mattress, I felt my wolf twist inside me when I could still faintly smell our sex from a few days before. My jaw set, I was determined right now to set things right again.

"I'm actually happy about it, which is probably stupid considering how much trouble I went through to do the test." I stared down at her comforter, following the twisting colorful lines of the pattern on it as I spoke. Becky's scent changed to empathy and understanding and my gaze rose back to her face.

"I think that's a very healthy way to look at it and I guess now you never have to actually tell him what you did." Her tone was questioning. I frowned for a moment really asking myself if that was the correct line of action for me to take, if I should continue to lie to my Alpha forever about this.

"My problems with Jake aside, I think we really need to talk." I figured when I wasn't really certain how to respond to her last unasked question maybe my best choice was just to move on to what I had actually brought myself here to discuss with her.

"What do you want to talk about Embry?" Becky drew her knees up resting her chin against them, looking at me curiously. I think she was really judging how I was going to reply in the next few moments and I also believed it was going to heavily influence what happened between the two of us. I felt a prickle on my skin under the pressure of trying to say the right thing.

"I think I owe you an apology." My gaze lifted to hold Becky's, I wanted her to see my honesty and to know how heartfelt what I was about to say actually was. "I know I haven't been in the best state of mind in the last week, but really that's no excuse for the caviler way in which I've treated you. I've been so caught up in my own useless bullshit, it didn't even dawn on me how important and beautiful and wonderful the woman staring me right in the face was. Becky I know I probably don't deserve one but I'm really hoping maybe I can have a second chance?"

My expression is earnest and I watched the eyes of the woman across from me grow wide. She bit her lip and it pained me as I scented tears fighting to spill. I'd been so fucking thoughtless to how everything I was doing was affecting her, I was an asshole. "I thought maybe you just weren't interested in anything serious with me." Her voice was small and unsure, I sighed deeply wishing desperately my life could have seemed clearer to me sooner.

"Honestly I was stuck so deeply in the private hell of my own making for the last week, I wasn't really thinking about anything long term. I shouldn't have slept with you while that was the case. It's not fair to you, but I do need to you know that you are important to me and truthfully Becky it was my desire to set things right with you that really pulled me out of my own funk." I slide closer to the small woman as she stared at me in surprise. Reaching out I grasped one of her hands with my own, our touch set an electric blot through my body, one that my wolf instantly reacted to.

"You don't need to beat yourself up so much Embry. I should have been more understanding about your problems and less demanding. It's just there is so much about everything between you, Lea and Jake that I don't understand." I felt my breath becoming slightly more laboring the closer I inched to the woman near me. I knew I had to form my reply to the statement she had just made. Even as I also understood that what was bothering her was probably the one thing I couldn't explain. Still my wolf was suddenly insistent with the need to taste the woman in front of us.

"There really isn't too much to explain. We're all really just close knit friends." I found myself unable to stop staring at Becky's lips, as suddenly I really wanted to kiss them.

"It's more then that, Lea's so different. She has never kept any secrets from me and now I know she is. You and Jake don't know me that well. I may not like it but I can at least understand why you guys don't just blindly trust me. Lea has been my friend for years now, I just don't get it." My ardor cooled slightly listening to the confusion in Becky's voice. I sighed deeply. I hadn't realized how obvious it was to outsiders that there was something different about us. This was hard, I had no issues apologizing for what I knew was my fault, but I couldn't explain our secret to her. Jake would be angry for me for lying to him, he would flip the fuck out if I told Becky we were shape shifters without his agreement.

"Relationships can change people." I tried to present an honest solution to Becky without telling her the complete facts. "Frankly just being around you this last week, seeing how important I can be to someone, clearly realizing the positive portions of my life has helped me transform." Reaching out I stroked the ends of Becky's hair as it framed her face. Her scent flowing the blood down to my cock and making me start to grow hard.

"I really helped you like that?" The blush that grew on Becky's cheeks made me smile. This was better I wanted her focused on us because that's what was honestly important to me at the moment. Not all my pack bullshit and what I could or could not say.

"You probably helped me even more then that. My family life has never been the greatest and well all of us have been kind of messed up for a while. Life has just been so fucking confusing." I sighed, "I can tell I'm important to you Becky; I can't express just how much that means to me." I felt myself leaning closer, my eyes locked once again on her lips. She licked them her small pink tongue darting out and I felt a small growl leave my chest as my cock twitched at the action.

"Embry…" I think she was trying to formulate a reply to what I had just declared to her, but my mouth crushed against Becky's before she could get the words out. My large frame pressing above her, pushing down towards the bed below us, My tongue crashing against her lips seeking entrance and finding it tasting every part of her I could.

Words were lost between us, Becky's eyes closed and she clung to me, her form pressing up and against mine, her heat tempting me. I growled loudly inside her mouth now, my wolf in a fervor, his desire to dominate the woman below us causing some of my senses to leave me. I was tearing at Becky's clothing and she at mine. I think she found her own inhibitions lost to my intensity. I relieved her of her shirt and bra, a whine leaving my throat now as my mouth finally pulled away from her and instead trailed kisses and licks down to her chest.

I savaged her nipples with my tongue, the scent of her desire causing precum to run freely from the tip of my member. I wanted to be buried inside of her again so badly I could barely hold myself back from just rutting into her. Becky was cooing and moaning, her hips gyrating upwards, hard against me showing her own desire for me to take her. I had wanted to taste her, and I had wanted her to taste me; but frankly I wasn't certain if either of us were controlled enough to hold back and tease each other before our joining.

Becky's legs wrapped up and around my body, her fingers of her right hand roughly grasping my hair pulling it hard and I cried out at the mixture of pleasure and pain it gave me. Reaching between us, I easily found her swollen clit and stroking the small nub enjoyed the look of absolute bliss that I gave the woman braced below me. I couldn't wait any longer, I needed to feel her tight walls milk my aching cock, I desired to hear her scream out my name. I positioned the throbbing crest of the head of my member against the slick, warm entrance to her sheath.

Becky thrust her hips up and against me and I had an intake of breath as she swallowed the tip of me, I growled again pushing her hard below me as I thrust into her. I could feel my wolf and I could feel Becky and the whole world just became the sensation of her body capturing mine. I buried my face in Becky's hair, just losing myself in her sweet, perfect scent as I drove into her small frame, her body hitting the mattress behind her hard as she was screaming out for me to take her.

I lost myself for a few moments to the animal inside of me. Becky was my mate now. I knew it with a perfect certainty. The fact we were not imprinted didn't matter. My wolf had claimed Becky as much as I had, she belonged to both of us, was loved by both of us and that made her more important to me then any woman I had known or been with previous.

I cried out as orgasming, Becky's body clamped down on my own, trapped and milking my cock so tightly I thought I might have seen stars. I got in a few more good thrusts myself then before I completely lost it, cumming hard, feeling my essence fill the woman below me. I was panting and sweating and everything smelled like Becky and sex and us. Groaning I collapsed down next to her, turning and kissing her watching as a sweet smile spread across Becky's face.

"This was how I should have ended our first time together. Cuddling you, letting you know how deeply I'm falling for you." I could scent the tears near the surface of Becky's eyes again and was about to comment on them or kiss them away, I wasn't certain which action to take yet. Suddenly the door downstairs crashing open broke our perfect little bubble as turning we both realized the door to the room we were in was still wide open.

"EMBRY!" I stiffened surprised as Jake literally bellowed below us. Something must have happened, something that had shaken my Alpha. Nuzzling Becky I swiftly kissed her cheek an apology written in my eyes before I called back to Jake.

"We'll be right down Jake, hold on a second." I figured from the intensity of his call he wouldn't be happy to wait those few moments, but my Alpha would just have to. Becky and I needed time to get dressed. Leaping out of the bed, I swiftly slammed the door shut and turned to see Becky looking at me perplexed and also a bit offset.

"Is he alright?" Becky had pulled herself from the bed swiftly collecting her clothes and tossing me my shirt from where it must have fallen on her side. I shook my head, not completely certain what the hell was going on.

"He can't be too bad off if he's not crashing up here, but we better go see what's wrong." I hated to walk away right now when I would much rather be basking in the knowledge of how important Becky was to me and me to her; but I was his Beta and Jake needed me. I just hoped it turned out to be for a very valid reason.

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><p><em>AN: Sorry this took so long! School has been insane and my writing time has dwindled because of it but I'm trying to maintain getting as much done as I can everyday. Embry's test results are finally returned. I went through a lot of different thought processes about what I wanted to do. The simple fact is I personally could never see Billy cheating on Jake's Mom. It just seems really out of character to me and so I had to go with my gut and I think it is honestly the best results for the characters. Also Becky and Embry crossed another hurdle in their relationship together, though they still have a long way to go before everything is out in the open. <em>

_Lots of new favorites and follows probably because it's taken me so long to post this! But I really want to give a warm welcome to everyone new to the story! And a huge thanks to **PastOneonta** and **Squinttern**! You guys really always leave the best reviews and that really helps keep me inspired to keep writing! Like usual any thoughts comments, heck anything you wanna say feel free to leave a review or PM me and I will get back to you as soon as school allows me!_

_Hopefully my next update won't take as long but I make no promises!_


	28. Chapter 27

**LEA**

Jake was pacing, we'd moved to the living room after my boyfriend had yelled out for Embry. From the muffled answer above I thought maybe he was in Becky's room, hopefully with Becky and maybe the two of them had finally reached some sort of impasse. Jake was making the small growling noise he tended to emit when his patience was wearing thin. I hoped whatever Embry was doing above he didn't draw it out because I had the feeling Jacob might go crashing up there to get him if he didn't appear soon.

I couldn't take my boyfriend's constant agitated movement anymore. My nerves were rattled too, but Jake striding back and forth in front of me was not going to do anything to calm either of us down. Standing again from my present seat on the couch I crossed to where Jacob currently was, he paused to look at me curiously as I suddenly grabbed his shirt to pull him down, locking our mouths into an intense, distracting kiss. The interruption worked and I felt the warm grasp of my boyfriend wrap around my form. I broke the embrace after only a few brief moments, but it was enough Jake's breathing was steadier and he was focused on me now with his gaze.

"What was that for?" Somehow during the walk back from speaking to Robert's Grandma we had switched moods. The more both of us thought about what we had learned the more agitated Jacob was becoming. Quite the opposite the more I got to reflect on and categorize my ideas and feelings the more I was able to look at everything with a cool head.

"Because I love you. Do I need a reason to kiss my boyfriend?" I tried to muster a look of absolute innocence while staring up at the large man who was peering at me with a mildly critical gaze; finally Jake's expression switched to a smirk as he shook his head.

"Yeah I'm stalking around here like an asshole I know. I'll try to calm down." Jacob let out a deep breath and I couldn't help being impressed that my wolf has read me so easily. Reaching out to grasp one of his large hands I squeezed it gently as I pulled him back towards the couch with me.

"After everything you just found out I really can't blame you for being a little beside yourself." Originally Jake was going to call his dad as soon as he got back to the house, but as we were approaching the front steps just a few moments previous, he'd declared to me he'd revised that plan and thought explaining everything to Embry first might be better. Jacob wanted his friend's opinion thinking Embry would form a more intelligent explanation to express everything to the pack back home. I thought it was rather wise of him and agreed.

Jake's head lifted and straining my ears I realized there was finally footsteps moving towards us now. It took a few moments but Embry and also Becky, both came tromping down the stairs. I watched an uncomfortable expression flash across Jake's face when he saw my friend and it dawned on me that now he was going to have to explain away him and Embry needing to leave us because Jake could not explain everything that had just happened in front of Becky.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Embry looked annoyed and I got the very clear impression we'd interrupted something. Jake stood up from the couch again and gestured with his head towards the roof.

"I need to talk to you." Jacob's gaze was intense and I was surprised, commanding. The tone one would picture the Alpha wolf using. Embry's expression immediately changed, reading the seriousness of what was unfolding in front of him and nodded.

"Sure." Jake crossed the room towards the stairs and Embry wordlessly followed. I sighed watching the two men exit and wondering how Jacob was going to explain all of this to his friend when I felt a pointed glare being aimed at me. I turned to see Becky studying my face, her expression grim and tinged with sorrow.

"Something else I'm not allowed to know?" There was acid in her tone and a brand new wave of guilt swept through me that I knew had to show clearly across my face. I fidgeted around on the cushion I was sitting on, wishing I could have some good explanation to give her and knowing one simply did not exist.

"We may have had a break in the case." Maybe if I made the information work related it wouldn't bother her as much, but to my dismay Becky's frown just grew deeper.

"Then why aren't you the one telling Embry about it?" I blinked for a moment, Becky's tone was more hostile then I'd expected and her question very well phrased because I didn't have an easy answer to it.

"I figured I would leave it up to Jake to explain what's going on to his friend." Even I thought that excuse was lame, but I tired to keep a neutral expression on my face.

"That's bull." Becky rarely got aggressive, but when something really bothered her she tended to not hold back regarding her feelings about it. "You've never played second string to anyone and you used to work with Chris who was probably the most assertive guy I've ever met. Yet now for some reason Jake is always the one in charge. It's constantly his judgment calls and all of us bending to his whim. I'm beginning to think this relationship you're in isn't as good for you as I've thought it was."

I felt something inside of me snap at the implication that Jake was somehow oppressing me. I took a deep breath trying to school the brewing anger inside of me before I said something I would regret. "Becky I'm sorry but you just don't understand…" I was about to attempt to explain to my friend something to make everything she had just pointed out not sound as terrible as she obviously thought it was, but she cut me off before I even started.

"That's my problem isn't it? You live this secret life now, with all these new people that I'm beginning to realize you've never really told me anything about. And now I'm starting to fall for one of your friends and questioning if it's even a good idea." With a look of distress Becky sank down into the arm chair next to the couch I was sitting on. I felt a fresh wave of remorse wash over me, I could clearly remember how it made me feel when I'd been left out of the big enigma in Jake's life and it wasn't even as bad as it had to be with Becky. I'd completely been an outsider, but Becky trusted me and I knew I was letting her down.

"Embry's worth all the annoyance Becky, I can tell you that. Just like Jacob was for me. I know I've changed and I know a lot of what I do doesn't make much sense but it's all for genuine reasons and they are good ones I promise you." The conviction was clear in my face, inside I felt so torn. I really wanted to say something that would make things better for my friend, but I just wasn't certain what. I finally understood just how beside himself, Jake must have felt when he wanted to tell me and I had a whole new respect for just how much pain he must have went through.

"I think I'm falling in love with him Lea, I think I'm getting to the point where I might be ready to consider the prospect of changing my life for Embry, but how can I when there is a whole side of all of your story that I know I don't understand. What really bothers me is the fact it's your boyfriend that seems to be deciding my fate, something about that just doesn't sit well with me." Becky's hands were folded in her lap, she had a tired look on her face, and I could tell this topic had been weighing heavily on her the last few days. I sighed leaning forward myself, a thoughtful look crossing my expression.

"I know you may not believe me but I actually understand were you're coming from better then even you know." My voice grew softer as my mind went back to the night I found out about Jake's ability to transform and I really hoped that if Becky did learn everything it wasn't in such a shocking way.

"Then why are you allowing all of this to happen? Lea you were always one of the most fiercely independent people I knew. I don't understand, I mean I can see how much you and Jake love one another, but I don't get why you listen to him like you do. Why he seems to have a power over you?" Becky's expression was plain. She just wanted to figure out why so many familiar things to her had turned upside down and why the world was now so confusing.

I floundered, uncertain how to actually answer her. I couldn't explain the shape shifting or the fact Jake was the Alpha wolf or the odd way I'd comfortably been drawn into his pack and the fact it seemed natural to me that we all operated and lived the way we did. It really was like a family and Jacob wouldn't question giving his life for any one of us. We respected him for that reason and listened to him, he made the rest of us feel security and safety and it dawned on me then also just what a responsibility my boyfriend had on his shoulders and how stoically he was handling it. Even in my confusion I felt a surge of respect for my wolf.

I glanced up at Becky my mind still racing still trying to categorize something, anything I could tell her to ease her concerns. I did think she and Embry had talked and that things were better with them now and that was why my friend was now focused on her future with him and just what it was going to encompass, but I simply didn't know how to answer that question. No matter how much I wanted to.

Fate seemed to be on my side over the matter, as just as I was stumbling over something to say to her my cell phone rang out again. Becky's expression became slightly cross this was at least the third serious conversation that my phone had interrupted. Glancing at it and seeing the person calling was Chris I could do nothing but spill out apologies, because my old partner needed me and something had to be important and it meant it required my attention as much as my friend did. Only maybe I would actually have an answer for Chris and then maybe I could collect my thoughts a little more before continuing talking to Becky.

Becky looked at me mildly exasperated as I exited the room and I felt even more self-reproach, as I answered my phone and said hello to Chris I knew I was going to have to speak to Jake again, because I needed something to share with my friend. This simple was not fair to her at all. I pushed out the front door, the cooler spring air chasing away a little of the negative emotion hanging around me. I slide down to the stoop before really finally starting the conversation with my old partner.

"What's up?" We'd exchanged greetings and something in Chris's voice put my slightly on edge.

"Why the fuck haven't you called me like I asked?" My brow knit, as I scooted around in my seated position, my brain backtracking trying to remember when Chris had told me to contact him.

"I'm sorry Chris I've had kind of a crazy day so far, when did you tell me to call you? Was I supposed to find something out for you?" I rarely forgot important things like this and I felt a whole new wave of guilt. Maybe in a way Becky was right, maybe I was falling behind on my game and getting more complacent.

"Didn't Embry tell you I needed to talk to you? I asked him to at the station today." Chris's tone calmed down. Once he realized I wasn't just blowing him off, he seemed less annoyed with me. I, on the other hand was just more confused.

"Well I haven't really talked to Em to…" I paused in the middle of my comment as my mind processed what my old partner had actually just related to me. I realized I needed to clarify something he had just said. "Chris did you just say Embry was at the station today?"

"Yeah he said he was dropping something off for you, to someone down in the labs." Now Chris's tone became suspicious when I sounded completely clueless about what he was saying.

"I don't understand. I didn't ask him to do anything for me today, and I have nothing for anyone there to even look at. I was at Rob's this morning." I leaned back against the step behind me, my mind now completely a whirl. Between Rob's grandma's story and Becky and now this I was just getting overloaded today.

"Honestly he was acting pretty cagey, I just wrote it off as maybe I didn't know him very well, but now… why the hell would he even be down here?" Whatever had been important to Chris at the start of the call had seemed to have been forgotten in light of this new mystery.

"I've noticed him and Harry Kim talking some but I don't know why." The idea Embry could be hiding something was bothering me more then I wanted to admit. I sighed deeply. "Hey Chris would it be alright if I called you back? I'd really like to find out what the heck is going on." I glanced back to the doorway to Becky's house I hated to interrupt what I knew was an important conversation between Embry and Jake, but my gut was telling me something was significant about what Embry had been doing.

"Yeah not a problem, I just had a lead I thought you might want to check out with me. I'll go take a look at it first and see if it's even worth our time. I'll call you back later." From the tone of Chris's voice I knew he also wanted a full explanation of what was going on with Embry when he called back.

"Well be careful Chris, we don't know just what's out there, so don't do anything stupid." I briefly wondered what my old partners lead could be. It might make me seem like a terrible person but I just didn't think he could be close to the path of the shifter. I still really felt like we were the only ones that could find and capture it.

"Yeah thanks for your vote of confidence." Chris's voice had a good humor to it. "Hope everything's alright." Which swiftly shifted to concern and I was grateful to him for it.

"I do too Chris, talk to you soon." I hung up my cell, looking out at the street as a small car passed by. Armed with this new information I felt a moment of pause. Something had to be going on with Embry, something he'd obviously hid from both me and Jacob and I couldn't think of a possible reason why.

Standing with a groan I shoved my phone back in the pocket of my jeans, stomping up the stoop and going back inside. The warmth of the house now felt good, I crossed down the hallway meaning to head right to the stairs but paused for a moment when Becky cleared her throat loudly as I passed by the living room. "Are you just going to duck out in the middle of our conversation again?"

I could see my time on the phone had done little to change her mood and I guess I really couldn't blame her. In the same token though my thoughts were currently in about four places and I knew if I tired to have a serious conversation with my friend she was going to end up just getting more furious with me. "Becky I promise we will talk about this more, but I really need to ask Embry something first."

At the mention of her love interest I watch Becky's look become more cautious and saw that now my friend appeared to be studying me. "What do you need to talk to Embry about?" Seeing her expression, I got a very sudden impression that Becky knew something about what was going on with Em and that she had been keeping a secret from Jake and I.

"You know why he was at the station today don't you?" Becky's entire frame stiffened at my question and I knew I'd read her correctly. It was her turn for guilt to flash through her eyes. She seemed to back peddle a little before replying.

"Lea please don't push this. You don't understand what Embry's been going through." Now Becky's tone was pleading. I felt my eyes narrow.

"Wait a minute, you've been making me feel like probably one of the most horrible people in the universe for the last few days because I haven't been able to spill every single detail about my life to you that I want to and you've been keeping secrets from me?" My hand rose to rest on my hip, and I could feel the challenge now rising to my posture. Becky frowned at my sudden change.

"What Embry told me is not my information to tell. It's his issue, and he needs to be able to share it when he feels comfortable. Not be bullied into it by your boyfriend." The remorse and concern that had been on Becky's face once again became annoyance. I could feel my jaw set and my eyes narrow. I was trying to be understanding and good natured and I relate to how aggravating being out of the loop can be, but her now almost constant accusations against my boyfriend were getting to be too much.

"Listen Becky you can be as angry with me about all of this as you want, I'll take whatever you want to say to me with good graces. Except you need to get over this issue you have with Jacob. I think deep down you even know everything you're saying about him isn't true and that your frustration just needs an outlet. Don't make my boyfriend your outlet. You want answers I get that, I'm certain you will get them as soon as possible. I'm fighting for you to know everything and I bet Embry is too, but this is all really complicated. Now I need to go speak to Embry and Jake and maybe you should think about how easy it's been for you and Em to just flat out lie to us the last week." I could feel a little bit of my _officer_ mode shifting into my posture. I tried to remain calm and carefully point out what Becky maybe hadn't clearly looked at yet in this situation. My friend sighed and I could see was troubled by my words. I don't think she wanted conflict between us any more then I did and I do think she could maybe start to understand that we weren't holding back just to annoy her but that it was vitally important.

"Jake's going to be mad at Embry isn't he?" Becky actually also looked a little defeated and I felt new worry prickle in my brain. Wondering just what the two of them could have been hiding from us.

"Becky is this really serious?" I knew she wouldn't give up Em's secret anymore then she would tell anyone mine if it was my confidence she was in. From the way Becky looked away, her brows knitting probably trying to find the right words I knew it had to be. "This day just keeps getting better and better." My voice was dry, exasperated. I just wasn't certain what could possible spring up next.

Becky didn't try to stop me as I walked away this time. Simply watching me, pleading with her eyes for me to do what I could for this man she had grown so attached to. Depending on what the secret was I knew Jake wasn't going to be happy, but I was hoping he wouldn't be furious. Stopping at the bottom of the steps I took one last long deep breath, then squared my shoulders I started my way up to the roof.

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><p><em>AN: I need to start off this author's note with absolutely outstanding news. Voting closed for the non-Canon awards and Feather Moon was lucky enough to win a gold award for Best WolfOC story and a bronze award for Best Original Character for Lea. I'm just over the moon I'm so excited and happy and I've never been nominated for anything for my writing let alone won something and I owe such a debt of gratitude to all of you who voted for me. _

_So thank you! Thank all of you from the bottom of my heart!_

_I linked to the banners on my profile if anyone wants to see them!_

_Now the update, kind of a cliff hanger sorry about that, but I really wanted to change perspectives before the huge reveal to Jake and the next couple of chapters should be nuts with a lot of things coming out in the open and maybe we are finally getting closer to where the shifter actually is (I mean Chris has to get a break at some point right?) So I'll continue to work extra hard to squeeze in a little writing whenever I have a free second to try to get the next part up here a little quicker. _

_Also I'm really pleased people seem to like the way I'm writing the pack members and their wolves. There is more of this to come and it's gonna be a huge plot point in book three which I almost have completely mapped out and I'm so excited to share with everyone. I always disliked Meyers whole extra chromosomes that's why they shapeshift explanation so I'm going to attempt to tackle my own werewolf history! _

_Big thank you once again to everyone reading this piece and especially **Young Simba 94**, **Squinttern** and **PastOneonta** for your reviews last chapter. I'd been concerned people might not like what I did with Em and you guys liking it really put my mind at ease! Thank you all so much! _

_As always please PM me or review with any comments, concerns or anything. It may take me a little longer to reply then usual because school sucks but I will write back as quickly as possible! Once again thank you everyone!_


	29. Chapter 28

**EMBRY**

At first when Jake had yelled for me I'd been understandable annoyed. Finally I'd managed to say everything to Becky I've been trying to for the last couple of days and things were slowly starting to mend between us. Then I saw the expression on my Alpha's face, the nervousness, the almost concealed excitement and my wolf easily detecting the edgy agitation of the other canine. It was clear to me quickly that something big had happened. I could have stood and guessed to myself what it might be, but Jake seemed to want to talk and simply finding out the answer to my questions would be far easier.

I followed my Alpha to the roof, already hearing the low tones of the women talking as we marched through the door into the cool air above. I shut the door behind Jake to see him turning and giving me a sharp look. Jake didn't seem to want to sit and instead starting pacing the length of the sitting area staring out into the city his nostrils flaring and I'm certain picking up all manner of scents.

"So are you going to tell me what happened or should I start guessing?" I attempted to keep my tone light hoping to break the heavy air Jake appeared to be carrying with him. My Alpha growled at my attempt at humor and I felt my wolf instead shrink from the challenge. I felt myself sigh as I crossed and flopped down into one of the lawn chairs not wanting to start some sort of pissing match at this venture. "You're tense Jake I can tell is everything alright?"

"You like to come up with theories about stuff right Em?" Jake finally grew still, he continued standing just staring at me. I felt my brow raise thinking this was not how I expected this topic to be breeched.

"Yes I guess I do, not much else to do in La Push sometimes?" I tried to read the expression currently on my Alpha's face but I couldn't quite place its meaning.

"Have you ever thought about if we are not the only werewolves in the world? I mean even before we came here and starting looking for the shape shifter that's in the city?" Talking now his nerves seemed to steady, Jake also crossed and flopped down into the chair opposite of mine.

"I always thought it was pretty safe to assume we couldn't be the only werewolves ever, anywhere. The myth is too big and covers too many different cultures for more of us not to exist; but come on Jake you're not one for cryptic bullshit. Just say what you want to say to me." I leaned forward bracing my arms against my knees wondering just what my Alpha had found out.

"The weirdest thing happened to me when I got to Robert's house and knowing our lives that's saying something right?" The ghost of a smile graced Jake's lips and I got the impression for the first time the news he had to share wasn't bad.

"Definitely," I returned his question with a grin of my own. My brain firing on all engines ready to hear and analyze anything Jake was about to say.

"Em it was fucking amazing. We walked in the door and Robert's grandmother knew just what I was fucking was, pretty much by just looking at me." Jake's expression was shocked, which swiftly switched to return to a grin. I felt my own mouth drop open as I tried to process how to reply.

"How did she know that?" Possibilities whirled in my mind. Jake took a deep breath and proceeded to relate an entire tale about Robert's grandmother's youth. I could feel my eyes growing wider as Jake explained what he had learned about this other wolf pack and the fact there was even more packs out there then just this one. I felt validated in a way to find out that my ideas had been correct and even more curious to get more information.

"So do you think these other wolves still exist?" It made me inquisitive and hopeful in a way, legitimizing even more that our powers were not evil in my mind.

"Well I think the guy we're chasing in the city right now is some kind of proof. He had to come from somewhere, and now I'm no where near as smart about all of this as you or Lea are Em, but I'm going to guess that he either left the group or maybe got kicked out because he's not a nice wolf. I'm hoping that means that if there is another pack maybe they are more in line with how we are?" Satisfaction spread across Jake's face at getting to share all of his ideas with me. I nodded finding his reasoning sound and agreeing whole heartily with it.

"That sounds pretty logical to me Jake." I just sat for a moment allowing myself to feel a little stunned, letting it really sink in that we did in fact have proof now that entire packs of other shape shifters existed and just what a genuine relief it was to find out they were all not evil. "Have you told anyone back home yet?" I imagined the rest of our group was going to be pretty rocked by this news, along with a large majority of our tribe elders.

"Not yet, I wanted to talk to you first, make certain my ideas sounded good and see if you had anything of your own to add." Now my Alpha looked at me curiously and perhaps even a little expectantly, waiting to see how I replied to his inquiry.

"Well I doubt we will have much luck getting information out of this shape shifter we're chasing when we find him. From his attacks and his murder ratio he doesn't seem very mentally sound to me, but I do think we should try to garner any clues from him that we can about his origin and I do think once we do go home and things settle back down again. That a few of us, maybe myself, Seth and Ian should start looking into seeing if we can find out any more about these other packs. Even if it's just local folk lore of different regions something somewhere must have been recorded." I leaned back in the seat again, a thoughtful expression on my face. I felt a jolt of excitement about the possibilities currently being laid out to us. Reflecting on all the sudden changes it also brought another topic to my mind that had been weighting on me.

"Also Jake, have you talked to anyone else in the pack about Becky and me yet?" Jake and I really hadn't had a straight forward conversation about what was happening between Becky and I in the last couple of days, but I'd gotten a clear impression he and Lea had been talking about it and that Lea was concerned for her friend. I watched my Alpha sigh.

"Not yet, but I plan to. Lea's been pretty upset about the fact she can't tell Becky everything about us. I'm trying to be understanding about were she's coming from because I remember how much it hurt me not to tell her, but I don't want any of us in danger because I make a shitty call for the wrong reasons." Stress was clear in Jake's tone and for the first time I got a real hint at the new weight he carried on his shoulders. Jake has always been a rather emotional guy so to see him working really hard at tempering that was actually pretty impressive.

"Do you honestly think Becky would betray us?" I almost hated to ask the question, especially when I saw the guilt that flashed through my Alpha's eyes before his jaw set and he looked away from me. Jake sighed hard, lowering his head for a moment to run his hands through his hair before looking up.

"Look Em, I would have to be a blind asshole to not see how much Becky is starting to mean to you and I know she's practically like Lea's family. I don't want to be a shit head, but I also don't want to be stupid. I already told Lea I would talk to Leah about this and probably my Dad and if it's general consensus that Becky can be trusted I'll make that call. I hate to admit it but I kind of get what Sam was attempting to explain to me before I took on the Alpha role. It's different once you know you have so many other lives depending on you. You look at everything a lot more seriously then you used to."

While I hated having to continue to hid things from Becky I could understand where Jake was coming from. His expression was so solemn and so much older then I ever remember it being. He was the Alpha now maybe more so then he has ever been up to this point. He has an air of command and control that was nothing short of impressive. I knew that I just had to be patience because I really felt like Becky and I were meant to be together and that eventually things would work out. As the Beta I had to be strong and respect the rules.

"I get it Jake, I don't like it but I really do get what you are doing. I just worry about Becky, because I can tell she's hurt and that she's pretty pissed off at you right now." I sighed, that had been one reaction I honestly hadn't expected, but I think it was becoming so obvious that Jake was in charge that Becky couldn't help but respond to it.

"I'm used to people, especially women being mad at me." Jake's grin caused me to roll my eyes. "I can take it as long as I feel like I'm doing the right thing." I wanted to expand on this topic, it seemed like a good time to bring up a few finer points of pack politics that I'd been wanting to discuss except the pounding sound of feet running up the stairs to the roof drew both my attention and Jake's. We both knew it was Lea from her stride and I could see my Alpha's eyes narrow as his mate shoved the door open to peer out and across at both of us.

"You alright?" Jake's tone was concerned when he asked. Lea looked flustered and I could scent the confusion and frustration rolling off of her in waves. She stepped outside, sliding the door shut behind her, looking suddenly at a loss for just what she wanted to say. Lea glanced down at the ground for a moment before her eyes rose and locked on mine. Her gaze studying me and I felt my blood run cold because I just knew that somehow she had discovered I was hiding something.

I pleaded with her with my eyes, to just walk away, but that simply made her jaw set. She knew I'd been lying to her and Jake and I could tell that didn't sit well with her at all. "I just got off the phone with Chris." Her stare at me was pointed and silently I cursed myself for leaving that lose end, so obviously there.

"What's wrong was there a break in the case." Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Jake tense, his expression grim trying to understand the emotions his girlfriend was projecting. I sighed deeply, shaking my head with my own aggravation and shame.

"It was about me." Everything was about to come out and I knew it and much like a man who loses his grip on a cliff and can't stop his fall, I knew there was nothing I could do.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Jake's tone was now hesitant, concerned. Lea was studying me with a critical eye, trying to determine what I was going to say next.

"Chris told me you were at the station this morning?" Lea quietly crossed to stand next to Jake and I realized she could already read his tension and was defusing it by running her finger tips along the back of his neck. I knew she was trying to silently help me how she could, but at the same token she was expecting nothing but the truth from me now.

"I went to see Harry Kim." Guilt was pouring out of me, a light sweat breaking across my body as fear at what I had to confess struck me. Jake's mouth drew down into a line as I could see him trying to understand what I was saying.

"Why would you need to go see some fucking lab tech guy? Were you trying to work on something with the shape shifter?" I had a choice to make with Jake's last question. I could either make up a lie now about why I'd been there, supplement something with the case we were working on and hope they both would believe me. Hell after everything he had already done Kim would probably even back it up. Yet I wanted to tell the truth, I knew it was going to be hard but I was sick of lying, I was sick of feeling bad about myself and I knew to truly be the Beta I couldn't betray the trust of my pack like I had been.

"I needed to run a personal test." My voice was subdued, scared. I wasn't certain how Jake was going to take the news of what I'd done and I had the feeling it was not going to be good. Jake's expression was blank, confused like he couldn't put together what I was trying to tell him. I glanced up at Lea and her face was pale and I watched her grasp part of Jake's t-shirt tightly and I think she was starting to see and I think she knew her boyfriend was going to be very unhappy.

"You know how your toothbrush disappeared a few days ago?" I figured I might as well spell everything out for him. If this was all coming out into the open anyway I didn't want anything left that I had to hide.

"Yeah Becky threw it out right?" Jake's tone had become lethal, he knew a big reveal was coming and he knew he was not going to like it.

"No Becky was covering for me, but please don't blame her she was just doing it because she knew how much what I was hiding from you meant to me." Silence still from my friend across from me, his expression dark and foreboding. I could see every muscle in his frame had tensed and inside my wolf was shirking away from the intensity of his Alpha baring down on him. Lea's face fell with a look akin to pity for me and I think she finally really understood.

"Why would she need to cover for you Embry?" Jake's voice was too precise and controlled when he finally asked the question. I would rather a passionate outburst from him then the knowledge that instead his fury was slowly building.

"I took your toothbrush Jake and I gave it to Kim." I just couldn't bring myself to actually say the words. To lay out for my friend that I had went behind his back about something so important. Lea wrapped her arms awkwardly around Jake's massive shoulders, I could see trying to comfort him and for the first time in their relationship I witnessed my friend shrug his girlfriend off and my throat went dry because I could almost feel that storm that was about to break.

'Why in the fuck would this Kim guy need my fucking toothbrush?" Rage starting to seep out of Jake's tone, he leaned forward his posture threatening. I sighed deeply knowing that I couldn't put off my confession any longer now.

"I wanted to get a paternity test run." I closed my eyes for a moment, waiting for the explosion, barely able to breath and was shocked when nothing happened. Slowly I peeked, sacred to see what Jake was actually doing, but more terrified of the silence. It revealed to me my friend sitting with a completely shocked expression on his face. Lea's eyes were filled with sympathy for me, for the man she loved and for the fact I think she clearly knew this was going to be a barrier between us.

"So you thought my dad cheated on my mom and I'm your brother and you didn't think this is something I might want to know? Fucking hell Embry is it even fucking legal for you to take my DNA or whatever shit from me without my permission?! I mean what fucking right do you have you asshole!" The flood gates had opened, Jake's octave was rising with each statement or question and I think Lea grasping his shirt again was currently the only thing keeping him from lunging out of his seat.

I couldn't even muster anger to meet his rage with. Everything he was saying was true and I'd known this moment was coming from the first time I brought doing this test up to Harry at Chris's party. All Jake ever asked me for was honesty and I'd lied about something so important and now looking at the betrayal on his face a small part of me wondered if he would ever completely forgive me.

"I know what I did was wrong Jake." I tried to appear earnest. I wanted him to see I was being completely honest with him now. My Alpha just growled deeply at me.

"Good for you do you want a fucking medal. That makes it so much better Embry, that you knew it would piss me off and make me feel like a piece of shit that my best friend would go behind my back about something so significant, but it's alright because he knew it was the fucking wrong thing to do in the first place." Jake was breathing hard, his fury barely contained I think had this been my friend from just a few months ago he would have started beating the shit out of me already.

"Jacob," Lea's calm tone combated the fury of Jacob's and the shame of my own. "I think what Embry is trying to say, is that he can see he's hurt you and that he feels terrible about it. I think maybe this had to really mean something to him, because he knew it would cause this much discord but he still felt strongly enough about it to do it anyway." I flashed the woman on the roof with us a grateful look. Even if she didn't agree with what I'd done I owed her so much for the fact she was trying to calm her boyfriend's rattled senses.

"Bullshit, you put me through hell when I lied to you. I remember that night clearly, trust me. Laying alone in your yard feeling like the biggest fucking asshole in the world and that was to protect the pack. It didn't have to do with your family." Jake's tone was as hurt now as it was scornful. Lea ran her fingers through my friend's hair, I could see attempting to control her own emotions and not allow them to run away from her as Jake got more upset.

"And then I forgave you didn't I, Jacob." The love in her tone, I could see Jake respond to it, his steely expression finally leaving me and raising to consider his girlfriend's words. "What you did hurt me, but the thought of losing you forever because of it was a pain I couldn't bare." I could hardly breathe watching the couple across from me trading looks. Jake's expression going from vehemence down to muted anger. Growling again, lightly this time he turned once again to view me.

"Why did you do it Em?" He hadn't come close to considering forgiving me yet, but at least he wanted to try to understand my side of what happened instead of just screaming at me.

"I've lived my whole life Jake with a big piece of me feeling like I didn't belong anywhere. What happened with your mom was a horrible tragedy man, I know it; but at least you knew she loved you. I didn't even have that, I just had emptiness. Growing up facing so much shit and I couldn't talk to my Mom about it, fuck she still doesn't even know I shape shift. I just wanted someone who I could confide in, someone who could tell me I was doing the right fucking thing." Pain flowed out of my voice like a dam opening and flooding into a river. I fought back tears trying to spill from my eyes. It was bad enough I had to bare every single shitty thing I felt, I didn't want to cry on top of it.

"And what the fuck am I Em? Some asshole you spend time with when you don't feel like being at your house?" Lea was still touching Jake, staying close to him, but to my appreciation she was also simply allowing the two of us to work threw all of this on our own.

"You're the best fucking friend I could have. You do so much for me and rarely ask for anything in return and instead of seeing what should be plain right in front of my face, I lie to you. The worst part is I knew what I was doing was wrong, every fucking step of the way I doubted myself and I still did it. I put some stupid ideal in front of what I actually have. I had so completely convinced myself we were brothers that I couldn't even fucking see that it didn't matter if we shared the same blood, we were already family." My gaze on Jake was pleading. I knew I didn't deserve his forgiveness but I was desperately hoping he would at least listen to my words and try to see that I was genuine in my remorse.

Jake's jaw set, his breathing continued to be hard and I could tell he was still trying to regain complete control over himself. I watched him now grasping Lea's hand like a life line and I could really see how through the imprint she was keeping him from completely losing his cool. "So the test came back negative?" Lea's perceptive nature had noticed the key facts I'd mentioned as I realized I hadn't even told Jake what had happened.

Silently I nodded, still studying the frowning face of my friend, wishing he would say something else even if it was to scream at me more so I could at least know what he was thinking. Jake growled again, looking off into the city for a few spare moments before I watched his eyes close for a brief time. "I need to get out of here for a little while."

I guess I shouldn't be surprise my friend needed a little time to think, but in the same token I hated leaving this open ended at this moment and wish we could just hash everything out right now. Lea stepped away from Jake, nodding in understanding as he stood. My Alpha sighed again, deeply, glancing up at his girlfriend before briefly looking over to me. "I won't be gone too long."

I didn't know what to say as Jake stomped away and down the stairs leaving the door to the roof open. I sat mildly stunned, staring down at my hands, not certain what to say or do at the moment. Across from me I heard Lea sliding into the seat Jake had just been in. "Give him a little time and he'll calm down Em." I felt my brown knit surprised by the reassurance from her. I had assumed Lea would be just as mad at me as Jake was.

"I didn't mean to mess everything up. Jake's right I'm an asshole." My voice was filled with self deprecation. My head dropping into my hands as I tried to come to terms with everything that had just happened.

"I won't say what you did was right Embry, but you didn't do any of it with malicious intent. You just didn't see what you already had right in front of you. You don't need to be tearing yourself apart looking for family, because we're all right here and all of us love you." Slowly my gaze rose to the woman across from me, her expression empathic and kind. Part of me didn't believe I deserved it, but another part was grateful.

"I just hope I haven't completely messed up my friendship with Jake." I spoke the fear most forefront in my mind.

"Please Jacob will run around, blow off some steam and probably come back here ready to discuss all of this with you in a calm manner. Embry you mean so much to Jake, you're one of the most important people in his life, and he's not going to turn his back on you. Yes this is serious, but personally I don't think it's completely unforgivable." Lea reached over to pat my knee, and the certainty in her expression slightly crippled the fear in my own.

Foot steps slowly climbing to where we were both sitting drew my attention. I felt an aching need as Becky's head popped out the open doorway. I just wanted to hold her and feel safe and loved in her embrace. Becky's gaze drifted from Lea to I. "So what just happened and why did you let Jake leave here looking so pissed off?"

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><p><em>AN: And everything is finally out in the open between Embry and Jacob. Hopefully this meets everyone's approval! I wanted Jake to be understandably upset, but at the same time I don't think this will destroy the life long friendship between the two men. They mean too much to one another and Em didn't want to hurt Jake on purpose. <em>

_We also still have this new question of other packs hanging up in the air and what's going to happen with Becky and Embry and the shifter, I almost forget him for a second!_

_Sorry once again this update took me a bit longer. Five more weeks and I finish this semester and then I should have loads more time to write. Which I honestly can't wait for, sometimes writing this fic is the bright spot of my day! I have been mapping out the next book and was struck by some ideas for yet another book (even though I'd only planned on three Jake muse just won't leave me alone!) and I want to ask would anyone here be interested in reading what's gonna happen to Quil? Leah's the other featured wolf in book 3 but I actually have some interesting ideas for Quil brewing in my brain now because he will not imprint on a toddler, that bothers me so much. Grrr! _

_If you have any feelings on this matter just shoot me a PM or review because I absolutely love hearing from everyone! **Squinttern** and **PastOneonta** thank you both so much for the fantastic reviews last chapter! I always look forward to seeing what you both write!_


	30. Chapter 29

**BECKY**

I wasn't completely certain if I could focus on a single emotion I was feeling at the moment. Embry and I had made love again. There had been some form of confession between us, a new connection. I knew now that our relationship was meaningful to him and something he planned to build on. I knew I was important to him, but I also knew he still had a secret. This burden was something that he, Lea and Jake all guarded fiercely.

Oddly I felt more anger with my friend then I did either of the men. Lea and I had been through just about every terrible thing two people could survive together. She was more like family to me then a majority of my actual relatives. She had kept things from me before. Especially in her line of work sometimes you just couldn't discuss the details of events. Yet it was never something that directly affected me.

I was genuinely starting to think about changes Embry could make to my life. I'd regretted not moving with Lea pretty much since she had left and I certainly would have no difficulty picking up things from my current life place and moving across the country. The issue was how I could really begin a new life when the people I wanted to start it with were keeping me on the outside.

I desperately wanted to blame Jake. The way Lea wordlessly followed his command. It was absolutely maddening to me. Logically I could see all the positive changes her boyfriend had made for her life. Yet all I could focus on was the fact Lea was keeping secrets. Deep down I think the part that did hurt the most was that regardless of the fact I wanted to blame Jake ultimately my friend was making the choice to protect her new life from me. That hurt in a way I hadn't put into words, even to myself yet. I wasn't certain if I should feel betrayed or just except the fact Lea had built a far different life from what the two of us used to live together.

I leaned back deeper into the chair I was sitting on. Lea had stomped up to the roof just a short time before. I hadn't heard any fighting or screaming yet, so maybe things were alright. I'd almost gone up after my friend. Feeling the need to defend Embry and protect him, but then I'd also questioned if any of them would want me there. I was not usually this person. One who got down on herself, on her place in the world. So maybe a lot of my aggravation at the end of the day was also focused on me.

Something needed to change soon. I was starting to wonder if I needed to draw some sort of line. If Embry wanted a serious relationship we were going to have to define what kind of life that meant we were going to live. Still the idea of being with a man who I'd so easily become smitten with and also getting to continue life with my best friend, it sounded like near bliss. I just wish I could shake this feeling inside that I was missing something so large and important. This gut eating monster dwelling inside of me that made me slightly afraid.

I jumped as the door to the roof slammed open. Heavy, tromping foot steps sounded loudly, carrying the person belonging to them down the stairs. I turned my head to witness Jake storming down the hallway. He paused for just a moment to glare at me. I held his gaze, knowing that he had to now know the part I'd played in Embry's deception of him. While I didn't wish for a moment for Jake to be mad with Embry because I could tell it was going to break part of his heart. I was still frustrated with the other man and just couldn't hide that from him.

Jake growled audibly, before shooting me one last withering look as he strode off towards the front door. I frowned, still given pause by the strange noises both men made. By the fact it teetered close to seeming inhuman. It was such a weird trait for them to have. After the large man had exited the house lapsed into silence. Concern and curiosity eventually got the best of me and I made my own way to the roof.

Stepping up into the crisping outside air I saw Embry and Lea sitting opposite one another in chairs quietly talking. They both glanced over to me as I entered. "So what just happened and why did you let Jake leave here looking so pissed off?" My tone was thick with concern. I searched the expression on Embry's face hoping he hadn't been crushed by having to admit what he had done to his friend.

"Jake needs to blow off some steam." I was unsurprised when Lea answered me. I was pleased to see that she was being supportive of Embry. Lea can be a little too straight laced at times. Then she just expects others to fall in and be the same. That can be mildly trying. I knew I had a thoughtful look on my face as I crossed over to my two friends sliding into the chair next to Embry and with a soft smile reaching out to grasp his hand.

"It's probably better he does calm down so that you guys can work everything out in a less chaotic fashion." I smiled softly up at the man next to me and I felt a flutter in my chest as he lifted my hand to lightly kiss my fingers before rubbing his cheek against them.

"I feel like a fool. I want to say I wish I would have just told Jake, but in the same token then he would have been pissed at me for doubting his dad. I just feel like this was a no win situation for me anyway I handled it." Embry sounded tired and maybe a little defeated and I realized this had been a very emotional day for him. Realization his had definitely been more difficult then my own. Yet here I had been wallowing in my own self pity because things weren't progressing quite like I wanted. The truth was I should have been up here supporting this man I claimed I was falling in love with.

"I think if your friendship is important enough to both of you Em, you're going to be able to make it through anything life throws at you. Even more trying moments like this one." Lea was looking at me as she spoke and I knew that as much as she was giving Embry advice she was also clearly sending a message my way also.

"I guess if you could forgive Jake for what he did to you, maybe someday he can do the same for me." There was hope in Embry's expression and I felt my brow knit wondering what event he was referencing, because I didn't recall Lea telling me about her and Jake having a serious falling out at any point.

"What happened between you and Jake?" I asked my friend and was a little surprised when the man next to me answered instead.

"Jake lied to Lea, for a long time about something equally as important as this matter between him and I is. When Lea found out well, we all feared she might just pack up and come back here and leave Jake alone. Our _group_ had been concerned how Jake would take it and if he would completely self destruct again. We were surprised to say the least when Lea forgave him as easily as she did." Embry reached up to stroke my hair as he talked. I sighed even in the fairly tense atmosphere enjoying his touch.

"I was really mad and hurt, like Jake is now. Yet like I said to the two of you before I loved him too much to allow what happened between us to stand in my way. I couldn't picture living my life without him in it and I think in a different way he feels the same about you Em." I could see my friend's words reassured the man sitting next to me. I was absorbing and thinking about everything they were saying.

"You never mentioned any of this to me Lea what did Jake lie to you about?" Sometimes it was infuriating how private my friend was. Horrible things could be happening to her and she always felt like she had to shoulder her pain alone. Lea was silent for a moment, giving me a reflective, almost thoughtful look. Swiftly a rueful smile spread across her face.

"You know ironically I was in a similar situation to you. The difference being I didn't realize everyone I was growing close to was hiding something from me." I felt my eyes narrow. Lea was giving me a considering look, waiting to see how I replied to her comment. Instead Embry spoke up next to me.

"I'm not really certain what would make either of you want to be with us, it seems like a lot more trouble then its worth." I could see the self doubt still prevalent in Embry's expression, still hitting him hard and fast after all the trails of his day. Guilt assaulted me again, if I really was serious about building something with Embry I needed to start thinking more about his feelings too and not just mine.

"If a relationship was perfect think about how boring it would be. Sometimes the trouble is what makes life interesting. Maybe I need to think a little bit more about that." Lea smiled at my reply and I watched the reproachful expression fall from Embry's face and instead his mouth formed a soft smile.

"If I can just mend things with Jake and maybe we can figure out what we want, my life would pretty much be perfect though." Embry's warm eyes melted my heart, the hope in them so honest and beautiful. It was almost magical the way my friend had found these men and the fact they were so indescribably incredible. I wanted to kiss Embry again, drag him down to bed and make him forgot everything that had happened with Jake at least for a little while. Yet Lea sat across from us and it didn't seem like the proper thing to do, to just run off.

"Things will get better." I watched the expression on my friend's face across from us and I had the feeling she could tell where my thoughts were and was maybe thinking of a way to excuse herself politely. "Once we solve this case, we can focus solely on mending everything between all of us." Then Lea smiled and pulling herself up stood. "Well speaking of police work I have some files I should probably read over."

Lea bowed her head politely to the two of us, and Embry and I watched as she crossed to the doorway to exit, quietly shutting the door behind her disappearing frame. "As aggravated as I might seem at times, is it odd that I when we are all together it really seems right to me?" I turned to look into Embry's eyes again and a little of the shame had washed out of his expression as I seemed to have distracted him at least for a moment.

"I honestly feel the same." Embry sighed and I could see he was currently torn between two very different types of emotions. "Becky would you ever think about moving to La Push?" His directness impressed me. I felt a warm smile spread across my face.

"Would it surprise you to hear I've already been thinking about it? I'm so confused Embry. About my feeling, about just what is going to happen. I guess like Lea said I'm currently too invested in us to give up on it just because things aren't going just how I want." I watched the dark eyes of the man across from me as he studied my expression, trying to read just how serious my words actually were.

"I really am a fool you know that?" His reply surprised me and my brow rose in question to his words. "I've struggled for so long to find my dad because I felt like it would be an answer to my loneliness. Finally I would have the knowledge that I genuinely belong somewhere and matter wholly to someone. Yet here I have it from you, from Lea- hopefully still from Jake if he doesn't hate me for forever. Why the fuck could I not have seen this all sooner?" Mild anguish in Embry's tone made my heart hurt for him.

"Maybe you needed to live through all of this in order to really be able to realize what you do have? Anyway Jake isn't going to stay mad at you. I know I haven't been a huge fan of his the last couple of days, but I'm just pissed Lea listens to him as much as she does I think. He's actually from what I see and what Lea preaches to me a really great guy. He'll forgive you and eventually the two of you will mend things and maybe even be better friends." The conviction in my tone brought a peace to Embry's face.

"What a fucking day." I couldn't help but chuckle at Embry's comment, he leaned back in his chair and I found my eyes drifting over his frame again. His smoldering gaze intense and penetrating flitting back to my body with a new burning intensity.

"Day isn't over yet, maybe we can make it a little better?" I bit my lip, my tone much more suggestive then I would usually be. Embry just flooded me with a powerful desire I couldn't hope to control. He grinned, his eyes slowly drifting over me.

"I'm certain you could do all kinds of things that could make me forget how shitty the majority of my day has been." I was glad when he didn't say all because I knew from his expression that his time with me had been the good part.

"Why don't we head back down to my room and we can see just what I can think up in order to accomplish that." I'd leaned in closer to him, almost able to feel the heat radiate off of Embry's frame. Slowly a smirk spread across his features and he let out a low grunt, his eyes narrowing in obvious arousal.

"That's the best offer I've had in a long time." He closed the gap between us as Embry's lips met mine. He was forceful and hungry, tightly grasping my hair. I allowed him to spend himself of all his pent up feelings enjoying the abandon he suddenly approached me with.

Finally we pulled apart, just enough to be able to each see the other was smiling. We were still holding hands and standing Embry then pulled me up to join him. "I hope we can wait to get to your room." I bit my bottom lip, playful now. I was happy that I had managed to distract Embry at least a little from the heavy melancholy that had hung over him.

"Well maybe if we actually start to walk there?" My face was flushed and I was excited. Embry leaned down to steal one last kiss from my lips before pulling me towards the stairs to down below. We were moving swiftly, eager faces with hopeful expressions. Suddenly I collided lightly with Embry as reaching the bottom of the stairs he halted.

His expression had changed to confusion and it almost looked like he was scenting the air. Embry turned as Lea threw open the door to her old room. She flung herself out her face white and scared. "I have to go!" Her tone was urgent and I felt and saw bafflement cross both my face and that of the man still holding me.

"Go where Lea?" Embry spoke first his tone even, thoughtful. He seemed like he was trying to read just what had Lea so concerned. It alarmed me because my friend was rarely rattled and for her to be this upset it had to be something bad.

"I just got off the phone with Chris. He's in Chinatown, some giant creatures been spotted. He's going after it. He's going to get himself killed." The pain in Lea's voice caused my blood to run cold. The terror spread to me, Chris was my friend also and Lea made it sound like he was in real danger.

"Are you certain it's not a false alarm? Has Chris called backup?" Embry stepped away from me his own expression intense as he asked the question.

"I can't one hundred percent validate anything, but knowing Chris like I do from his reaction and the tone of his voice he thinks this is very viable and serious. Unfortunately he can't contact for re-enforcements until he has actually seen something." Lea was pacing in front of us. She was wringing her hands, nervous energy coursing through her. "Anyway I can't just wait here to find out what happens." My friend stepped forward as if to brush past us and it surprised me when the usually quiet Embry suddenly slammed his hand out and effectively blocked her path.

"You're not going anywhere until I go get Jake." His tone was forceful and powerful and I watched as Embry's frame went ridge with warning. Lea stopped, her eyes widening for a moment, before growing narrow again in obvious annoyance.

"You can't tell me what to do Embry. Chris could die." Lea was not going to back down easily, but to my surprise neither was Embry.

"And so could you and you're far too important to too many people to just run off. Jake is best suited to handle this with me. You'll wait for him and that's not a request." That strange dynamic held between all of them again. Something I didn't quite understand, but at the moment I didn't completely disagree with. I personally didn't think Lea should be running out into whatever was going on without her wits completely about her either.

Lea just glared at Embry for a moment, her expression brutal. It almost looked like she was going to fire back. Like Lea was going get into the larger man's face before she took a few deep calming breath. "Fine." The short, curt word left her mouth with the intensity of a curse. "Hurry and get Jacob, Embry." Lea lowered her gaze and looked away, still obviously angry. Embry studied her for a moment, before turning to look at me. His expression was apologetic as he quickly kissed my cheek.

"I'll be back as quickly as possible." Embry broke away from the two of us. I heard him jogging down the stairs to the ground floor until we heard the front door slam signaling his exit. I was mildly mystified and so I didn't immediately follow Lea when she turned to head back into her room. After reflecting for a moment I did, standing in the doorway to consider her with a thoughtful expression.

"Will Embry even be able to find Jake?" Lea's boyfriend had been gone long enough he could be almost anywhere. Lea was bent over a box, getting something out.

'Yes he will. I need you to tell them when they return that I've headed out to help Chris and I'll be expecting them to join me." My eyes grew wide as I realized what Lea had been getting was a gun and that she was now holstering it to her ankle.

"But Embry seemed pretty clear that you should wait." I wasn't even really certain what Embry and Jake could do, but I felt safer with them going with my friend.

"Chris is going to die Becky, I can't allow that. I owe him way too much to just turn my back on him and wait around. Tell Jake I'm sorry I couldn't wait." Lea had stridden across the room to stand in front of me as she spoke, her tone full of conviction. I knew I wasn't going to change her mind.

"It doesn't seem safe." I tired to think of how to reason with her. Lea just frowned.

"No it's not, but I'm not letting Chris go into this alone." Lea shouldered past me as she tread out of the room. I followed her but she didn't even look back and she was out the front door herself and gone before I could formulate something better to say. I stood in the middle of my hallway, wondering what in the hell was going on and hoping Embry and Jake returned soon because I feared for my best friend's life.

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><p>AN: Wow it's been a while! I've missed this story and all of you! My semester is pretty much finished. Just a few more things to turn in and I will be done. Sorry this took me so long to get up but things are gonna start getting intense from this point forward! Hopefully my next update will not take so stupid long!<p>

Thanks to everyone who has been reading and liking and following! Thank you so much PastOneonta and Squinttern for your fantastic reviews and your continued support! And guest reviewer from my last chapter. Hopefully when you see how things will work out between Jake and Em you will approve!


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